Psychology
by Yo How's it Going
Summary: One bad day can cause a title wave of psychological breaks and discoveries.
1. Help

Yo, how's it going. So a little more than a couple of things before we start.

1) This story has some heavy hits on depression, thoughts of suicide and quite a bit of foul language. If you have any problems with this at all I would find something else to read.

2) I'm not the best writer in the world. I make mistakes...lots of them. Feel free to let me know of any of these mistakes by whichever means you like and I will try to fix them along with the next update.

3) I don't own Naruto blah blah blah

4) Enjoy your flight :)

* * *

Neji woke up from his office chair with the smell of wet paint filling his lungs. The scent made him smile as he sat up, stretching his arms while looking around his room. Several paintings, paper and canvas alike, hung from the walls. Even more, laid propped up on random pieces of furniture. It filled his bland off-white walls with different colors and places that he could only dream of going. He strained his eyes as bright morning light poured into his room from the balcony. The natural light was great for painting, not so much for early school mornings. He blinked a few times, his eyes settling on the easel in front of him. A half-finished painting of a cloudy twilight sky set in the snowy mountains by a river sat there, calling him. It was one of the most challenging, beautiful pictures Neji had ever tried to paint, but it had to be done. He wiped some sleep from his eyes then looked down at his hands. They were colored with dried paint in different shades of reds, oranges, and yellows. Despite his colored hands, Neji wasn't a messy painter, in fact, far from it. Sometimes his fingers provided a better stroke and texture then his brushes could. He cursed under his breath. The color on his hands didn't bother him, but the consequences that came with them did. Standing, he stretched again, his back and shoulders popping loudly. Sleeping in his chair was never ideal and happened way too often. Neji sauntered over to his bathroom to attempt to wash the different colors from his hands, but his phone vibrated before he could make it. Grabbing his phone off the easel, he tapped the touch screen showing a message from Sasuke.

'Going to be late for class. Distract teach?' Neji chuffed at the message and quickly sent back a 'you wish' before getting up to get ready for school. Even a shower and an extra hand washing didn't get rid of the strange color on his hands.

A puff of air passed through his lips, "Going to get chastised about this now," he grumbled to himself.

He dressed in an off-white collared shirt and some khaki slacks, a basic rendition of his school's uniform. With a yawn, he walked out of his room and down the stairs to the kitchen. The house he lived in was large, some might even call it luxurious, but to Neji, it was lifeless. Nothing but brown and white on top of more brown and white with random statues and store-bought paintings desperately trying to pour life into it. It didn't work. The colors of the house were dull. The sculptures were old and dusty. The paintings that hung on the walls lacked the bright, saturated colors that the real world provided. The excess space didn't help either making the place always seem empty. Neji hated it here. The kitchen was no exception to this lifeless, colorless, empty feeling. Just replace the paintings and statues with random kitchen appliances that are never used. He quietly strode to the fridge, grabbed a small yogurt, and walked over to the dining room. The dining room was rather vast as well, with a table that could probably fit an army of people. His younger cousin and uncle were at the table on opposite sides. Both eating lightly toasted bread, though his uncle was reading the news on a tablet while doing so. Hinata was quietly reading a book wearing a collared shirt in a similar color to Neji's and a navy-blue skirt. Neji walked to Hinata's side of the table, giving her a light one-armed hug before sitting next to her and starting on his yogurt.

Hinata gave a warm smile, "Good morning, Neji, how are you this morning?" Neji's answer was delayed due to a mouth full of yogurt, but he gave her a small nod with a slight smirk.

"Good morning Hinata and I'm fine, thank you."

Hinata looked at Neji's hands, slightly amused by the weird colors. "You forgot to wash your hands after painting last night again, didn't you?"

Neji let out a mixture of a groan and sigh, "I couldn't get the sky right last night."

Hinata giggled, "And what was wrong with it this time?"

"That's the problem! I don't know. For some reason, it just... lacks...something."

Neji seemed to get lost in thought after saying that. Hinata stared at him for a second, slightly amused by his artist block. This wasn't the first time he's done this. For years now, he would ask her about random color palettes, where specific landmarks should go in different paintings. Hinata wasn't the artsy type. Sometimes she didn't understand what he was talking about, but she was always happy to help him. She lightly tapped him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his train of thought.

"How long did you stay up?"

"About three am," he grumbled out, hoping that a certain uncle wouldn't hear him.

"You shouldn't be staying up so late, Neji. A good night's sleep leads to a healthy mind." his uncle chimed in, not looking up from the tablet.

Damn it.

Neji rolled his eyes but responded respectfully, "Yes sir."

"Also, the summer is over. I expect you will be paying more attention to your diploma and working on a degree in psychology rather than this hobby of yours."

Neji's grip on his yogurt container increased until it was crushed in his hand. "Of course, sir," he grumbled bitterly. Jolting up from his chair, he strode over to the trash can and threw the rest of his yogurt out. He grabbed a few paper towels to wipe his hand off and turned to Hinata, "You ready to go?" She jumped slightly before responding, "Uh, yeah, let me just grab my bag."

Neji was quiet most of the drive to school, his knuckles white from his tight grip on the wheel. As they drove, they passed by a massive skyscraper with the letters Hyuuga Psychiatric at the top. Neji glared at the building as they passed by. That building was the bane of his existence. After about five minutes, Hinata spoke up. "You know you could just tell him that you don't want to join the company."

"Last time I did that, I was apparently going through hormone changes and just needed to 'let it pass' until I grew older," he snapped back.

"Then how about you just not join the company."

"And be disowned and kicked out of the house, don't think so. I'd like to have somewhere to live through the rest of my education."

"He wouldn't do that."

"Did it to my father, why would he not do it to me."

"Neji..."

He didn't acknowledge her for a second before letting out a frustrated sigh "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"It's okay, I understand why you feel that way."

The car went silent again. They both looked in opposite directions from each other. "D-do you want to get some coffee, we left a little early," he suggested.

"No, that's okay."

The disappointment in her voice made his heart hurt. "C'mon, I'll pay for it, largest size you can think of." He turned to Hinata and gave a small sympathetic grin. She looked back at him with a thoughtful face for a minute but couldn't help but smile again.

"Fine, but I'm paying for my own."

"I said I'm paying for it, so I'm paying for it."

"Neji..."

"Hinata..." They both stared at each other, Neji looking back and forth between her and the road. "Fine," she sighed. Neji could do nothing but grin at his victory as he drove in the direction of the coffee shop.

The Hyuuga duo pulled into the Konoha Private Academy parking lot about twenty minutes before classes started. The school grounds were massive, taking up about seventy-five acres. That didn't include the monstrous gated off woods in the back of the school. Hundreds of students all shuffling in from all directions, all wearing collared shirts of different colors and slacks; some girls were wearing skirts. They both got out of the car, bags, and coffee in hand. "I'll see you at the end of the day," Hinata said quietly, beginning to walk away.

"Hey."

She stopped and looked up to him, "I'm sorry, about...you know," he sighed.

Hinata gave a small smile then nodded, "It's okay, really. Thank you for the coffee."

Neji smiled back and watched her disappear into the mass of students. He absolutely hated making her upset, but he also absolutely hated her father, which made things difficult. He would be a lot happier if Hiashi weren't so insistent on joining the stupid company. Neji didn't want to become a psychologist. He liked painting and drawing, not talking to people and solving their problems. He wasn't much of a social butterfly or very trusting for that matter. Neji had a tiny group of friends that he would only give half-answers, lies or just the cold shoulder to when they asked too much. In fact, Hinata was the only one that Neji would fully disclose what he was feeling also. To him, she was like a sister. He trusted her wholeheartedly, which is why things were difficult. She loved her father, and Neji complaining to her about him always made her upset. Maybe he should stop talking to her about it.

Neji pushed his way through the mob of students inside the building just to get back outside to the picnic area. The outdoor eating area, right outside the cafeteria, was gigantic. Picnic tables scattered throughout the yard with large trees covering them with cooling shade. As soon as he made it to the picnic area, he found one of his friends almost instantly. Rock Lee was the only student to wear a green collared shirt, green slacks and sport a bowl cut without a shred of self-doubt. As soon as Neji tapped his friend on the shoulder, he shot up from his seat and wrapped his arms around the young man. Though this greeting was not one that Neji particularly cared for, it was inevitable. He had known Lee for years. This was just the way he was, there was no changing it.

"Neji! How are you, my friend, how was the latter half of your summer."

"It was fine. Just did some painting." He held up one of his hands to show off his new skin tone. "How about your trip to Suna?"

"It was very enlightening. The country's form of martial arts is very different from ours due to the terrain. They have to..."

Neji started to tune him out, which was nothing new. Lee tended to get a little overzealous about topics he didn't really care about. Thanks to his uncle, he was very good at pretending to listen. His thoughts slowly started to drift to his painting. What the hell was it missing?

"Hey...Hey, Neji."

Neji snapped out of his thoughts, "Yes, what is it."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your first class today?"

"Huh? Oh, it's uh college-level psychology." The word psychology just left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Oh, that's good. We have the same class. Your uncle will be proud when you pass with flying colors." Lee smiled, patting his back.

Neji gave a small short smirk. Most of his friends knew that he didn't want to join the Hyuga Psychiatric Company, but Lee was not one of them. Neji found it would be more of a pain to tell him. Dealing with him continually saying what a missed opportunity it would be if he didn't, or he should follow his youthful heart, whatever the hell that meant. Either way, it would be a pain. "Speaking of which, we should get going. Don't want to be late," he spoke up before Lee could start talking again.

"Of course!" Both of them started on to their class, Lee still talking about his trip the entire time. They made it to the classroom right as the bell rang to begin classes. It was a dull classroom with white walls, brown desks, and the occasional inspirational poster with a kitten on it. The two of them sat across from each other around the middle of the room. Neji observed who all entered the room along with them. Most of the students he knew for years prior, but a few were new.

"I wonder where the teacher is," Lee said, looking around the class. Neji just shrugged and began to dig in his bag for a sketchbook and some pencils. Hopefully, if he could draw out the painting he was currently working on, he would figure out what was missing from it. He was in his own world for about ten minutes until he felt a hard pat on his shoulder, causing him to draw a hard-straight line across the paper. Whipping his head over his shoulder to see Sasuke taking the seat on the other side of him. Neji started to erase the line across the page.

"You're an asshole, you know that."

"Takes one to know one."

Neji stopped erasing and looked at him with a flat expression, "Really, we're going back to kindergarten today."

"We're already in a room full of kindergartners, so why not."

Neji rolled his eyes at this very typical answer. Sasuke and Neji had been friends for the past two years. They would always take jabs at each other, which confused most people when it came to their friendship. People didn't realize that they had a lot in common and were able to vent to each other. Both belonged to affluent families. Both hated the wealthy family they belonged to. Neji liked him because he didn't ask too many questions, nor did he care to. Though being friends with him did have its faults. Sasuke was the token 'bad boy' of the school, which attracted both teachers and girls, something Neji didn't want. It didn't help that Neji wasn't exactly hard to look at either. It took him a long time to build up a cold enough reputation, so girls would stop asking him out.

"So, you here for the easy A too."

Neji huffed at his question, "I wish. Though I don't need the class, my uncle demanded I take it to prepare to join the company."

"Least you got a job straight out the gate not straight to college for a business degree."

"Just replace business with psychology and your dead on the money."

"You sound sooo exhilarated about that."

"Completely..." They went quiet for a few minutes until Sasuke groaned.

"Where the hell is the teacher, it's been like ten minutes, and I was late?"

"This is quite strange, maybe they're sick," Neji mumbled back, not looking up from his drawing.

"We can leave after fifteen minutes, right," Sasuke suggested?

"We must stay in the classroom for the duration of the class."

"Ah, shut the fuck up, Lee."

"That is not a very nice thing to say," Lee argued.

"I can show how nice I can really be later."

"I will not..."

"Would you two stop...please," Neji shouted, looking back and forth between both of them. He couldn't focus with both of them bickering across him. Before either of them could respond, the door to the classroom busted open. A white-haired man with an eye patch walked up to the whiteboard. He didn't say a word as he grabbed a marker and wrote his name on the whiteboard. Turning to the class, he introduced himself.

"My name is Kakashi, no Mr. or sensei needed at the beginning or end. This is college-level psychology. Any questions?" No one decided to speak up or rather were a bit to shocked to do so.

"Good, then we can get on with the assignment." He walked up in front of the desk and sat on it. "For those of you thinking that you're going to get an easy A, your right. In fact, for the entire year, you will only have one assignment, which only involves writing one essay due at the end of the year."

Most of the students smiled at this with a few mumbles here and there. Sasuke nudged Neji in the arm, "Told you, easy A."

Neji didn't respond.

"So, no beating around the bush. All you have to do is form a full psychological evaluation on one of your classmates. Now I know what you're thinking, psych evaluations don't take an entire year to make, but you are a team of one, whereas normally you would have a team of many. I'm not asking you to tell me how this person feels for an entire year."

He hopped off the desk, walking toward the whiteboard again. Marker in hand and began to write what he was saying "I want a clinical assessment, a mental status examination, a physical examination, and I hope writing all this down because I'm not going to keep it up here forever." The sound of students shuffling through bags filled the room, followed by the scratching of pencils and pens. Neji just moved to a blank page in his sketchbook.

"I'll let you decide what type of tests you want to run to get these results. If you have any questions about certain tests, you can ask Google or me both of us know. Before I take any questions, there are going to be some rules with this assignment that I want to tell you. Any violation of these will result in an immediate failing grade." He turned toward the board again, writing again. "I know for a fact everyone in this room has heard of patient confidentiality." Kakashi wrote the last two words on the board.

"During the next year, you are going to be this person's best friend, whether you like it or not. That being said, you might hear of some personal details that your partner may not want everybody in this school to know about." Kakashi leaned up against the desk; his voice darkened slightly. "If I hear any word that you have given away information about your partner that he or she would not approve of, you both will fail."

Sasuke spoke up then. "Wait, that's stupid, why would both of us fail?"

"Because some morons think it's funny to try and fail their partner by lying about them giving out information. So, to avoid this, you both will fail. Any questions about that."

Everyone stayed eerily quiet.

"Right then, rule number two, don't lie." Kakashi wrote down the last two words again then turned around. "If your partner happens to be a very loud, boisterous, and all-around happy person around everybody, but you write the opposite because you didn't want to be around your partner, you fail for obvious reasons. Any questions about that? No? All right, well, I'm sure you guys are really excited to pick out your friends and acquaintances for this project to make it as easy as possible."

Most of the students looked around at each other, looking at the ones they would want to be partners with. Neji, in particular, was hoping of either Lee or Sasuke, mostly Sasuke. Lee would be easier to handle as far as getting answers for questions, but Neji didn't want him knowing anything more than he needed to. Sasuke would be perfect because he didn't care about Neji all that much. Anything he told him wouldn't stick. "Well, too bad, I've already picked your partners."

Shit.

If Neji didn't want Lee knowing too much, he really didn't want some random person knowing. "I'll call you up, two at a time, so you can meet up with your partner face to face. Once you meet them, your free to do whatever you want, whether it's work on this assignment or not. You could leave for all I care." Kakashi started to call out names in pairs, Neji turned toward Sasuke who looked slightly annoyed.

"Seems like a weird thing to do," he whispered over to Sasuke.

"Yeah, he's pretty much asking us to invade someone's privacy for a whole year."

"I mean, I can't imagine it being that hard."

"Well, all I know is, after I get whoever my partner is, I'm out of here. You in?"

"Just for this class, I'm not skipping the rest of them."

"C'mon, live a little man. It's not like anything interesting happens on the first day anyway."

"Sasuke Uchiha and Choji Akimichi," Kakashi called out. Sasuke sat there for a minute, jaw slacked slightly. Neji started to chuckle, "Nothing interesting happens on the first day, huh?"

"Fuck you, man," Sasuke growled, walking up to the front.

Neji watched his friend sulk up to the front for a moment then turned to Lee. "Have you already been called yet?"

"Yes! I was partnered with Shikamaru Nara."

Great. The straight-A student that barely puts any effort into anything gets the easiest student to do this assignment on, seems fitting.

"Neji Hyuga and Gaara Sabaku." Neji cocked his head to the side, slightly looking around the room. He stood slowly, still looking around for who that could be as he walked up to the front desk. A flash of red seemed to filter its way through the students, up to the front desk with him. Neji had never seen this student before, at least he didn't think he had. He defiantly would have remembered the bright red hair, not to mention the dark circles around the sea-green eyes.

"Neji, meet Gaara. Gaara meet Neji." The redhead was slightly shorter than him, but not by much wearing a dark red collared shirt and black pants. His face held no emotion as Neji did a small head bow. "Nice to meet you." Gaara only nodded in response.

"Here is a small packet with some start-up questions to help you out and my contact information just in case you have any questions. I would suggest the first thing you do is get contact info from each other. Now, off you go."

They both nodded, walking away from the desk. Neji followed Gaara to his desk, where he pulled out a small notebook, writing down his phone number and email. Ripping the paper out, he handed it to him. "I have to be somewhere. Just text or email me when you want to meet up, okay?" Gaara took the piece of paper from his hand and smirked. "Yeah, thanks."

Neji was slightly taken aback by his voice. It was deep and gravelly with an accent that wasn't natural to this region. Despite this, Neji only nodded at him then walked back over to his seat where Sasuke was already packing up his notebook.

"This is bullshit," Sasuke complained. Neji also began to pack up his stuff. "Save the complaints until we get out of here. Lee, you coming."

"Hmm, I want to talk with my partner about our plan to..."

"Lee, your partner is asleep." Lee looked over to where Shikamaru was sitting, where he was, in fact, snoring at his desk.

"Talk to him later, I don't think you will get much out of him right now." Lee seemed to contemplate his options for a minute before standing up to gather his things as well. "I will go with you."

"C'mon slowpokes. Don't have all day."

Sasuke led the two of them through the school and outside toward the back where the track field resided. Students were always allowed outside as long as they had permission and remained on campus. The school felt it was vital for them to get out and get some fresh air. To make sure nothing crazy happens, teachers often walked around to keep an eye on things. As soon as they made it outside, they found a nearby tree and settled down under its shade. Sasuke dug in his bag and grabbed a small rolled joint, lit it, and took a hit of it. After a few hits, he offered it to his companions, Neji waved it away "I'd like to keep my chances of getting lung cancer to a minimum, thanks."

"Neji is right, smoking is not healthy. If a teacher finds you, you could be suspended."

"It doesn't give you lung cancer, idiots. And there are no teachers out here this early. They're too busy dealing with first-day bullshit."

Neji stayed quiet. There was no reason to argue with him. Lee, on the other hand, "I am sure there are some studies that show that this can affect your lungs."

"Then show me." Lee remained quiet.

"That's what I thought."

Neji started to pull out his sketchbook and draw the environment around him. It would make a good painting, although maybe a bit boring. All three of them sat there quietly until Lee spoke up again. "So Neji, who did you get as your partner."

Neji stopped sketching for a second to think, "Ah Gaara Sabaku, I think. He had very vibrant red hair and a weird voice."

"That name sounds very familiar," Lee mumbled quietly.

"Ha, you got that freaky looking guy."

"Do you know who said 'freaky looking guy' is?"

"Not a chance, just know he came in late as I did."

"Ah! I know who that is," Lee suddenly spoke up. Both Neji and Sasuke looked over to him. "He's from Suna, I believe he is the youngest son of the former mayor."

"Former," Neji questioned?

"Yes, the major of Suna just recently passed away," Lee informed.

"Why the hell is the kid all the way over here when his dad just died?" Sasuke spoke before Neji could ask the same question.

"From what I understand, he's here on a foreign exchange program."

"That seems like that would be canceled with a tragedy like that happening," Neji stated. At this, Lee shrugged.

"Well, at least you have some talking points with your partner. What the hell am I going to talk about with mine, fucking chips."

Neji couldn't help but laugh as he began to sketch on his sketchbook again. "He does eat a lot of chips," he agreed through his chuckles.

"I'm sure there are other qualities to Choji than that," Lee suggested.

"Oh yeah, Lee, like what? Name one thing, one single thing, about Choji that doesn't involve eating something."

Lee thought for a minute, "He likes butterflies."

Sasuke stared at him for a minute before finishing off the joint and tossing it aside. "Well, that's just fan-fucking-tastic Lee. Guess we'll just sit around eating chips and watching butterflies all year." He grabbed his bag and began to walk away from the two of them. Neji watched him leave. "Where are you off to?"

"I told you already I'm ditching today, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Neither of the two said bye as he left. As soon as he was out of sight, Lee spoke up, "There is one more thing I didn't mention about Gaara Sabaku that I think you should know about." Lee's voice changed from energetic for more low and serious. This alerted Neji to stop drawing and completely pay attention to what he was saying. "While I was in Suna, some rumors were going around that Gaara had something to do with his father's death."

"So, they think the Mayor was murdered?"

"I don't know. No details were released about his death, but a lot of the citizens suspect Gaara had a hand in it. It also could be why he was sent here in the first place, to keep him safe."

"Hmm, why didn't you say this before when Sasuke was here?"

"I do not mean to be rude, but I do not know Sasuke that well, and rumors are just that. I would rather them not spread."

"Yeah, I understand. Thanks for telling me."

"You're welcome," Lee smiled. Before Lee could say anything else, the bell rang, signaling the end of classes. They both began to gather their things and walk back into the school building. "What class do you have next?"

"Literature."

"Well, my friend, this is where we part ways then. I will see you later." Neji only nodded to him as he disappeared in the crowd. The next half of his classes went by quickly until lunch hit. As he made his way out of his fourth class, he hoped that he could go outside and draw peacefully. Once he made it to the outside picnic area, he saw Hinata sitting by herself at one of the tables. He wasn't shocked; juniors and seniors had intermingled lunches. Almost instinctually, he walked over to her and sat down, startling her a little bit. He chuckled, "So, how has your day been."

Hinata played with her fingers nervously, looking down at her lap. "U-um, it's been fine. I was just um."

She looked around nervously. This was odd. Hinata tended to be nervous around a lot of people but never him. Did he startle her that bad? He was just about to ask when a voice so grating to his ears sounded off that it almost made them bleed. Turning slowly, he saw what he'd hoped he would never see this entire school year, Naruto. The bright yellow sunbeam was making his way over to their table with two trays of cafeteria food balanced in each hand. This is why Hinata was acting so nervous. It was a well-known fact that Hinata and Naruto had a thing for each other, though they weren't officially dating each other yet. Neji simply didn't like him because he was trying to date, what he considered to be, his sister. He ignored the other undesirable traits; being loud and annoying could be ignored, with focus. Naruto sat next to Hinata, placing one of the trays in front of her as he sat.

"Here, ya go. Hey, Neji, what's up," he practically yelled! Neji put on a glare that could kill a charging bull. "Nothing much."

Hinata sat there, uncomfortably. She knew Neji had a particular disdain for Naruto. Things were always extremely awkward for her when they were together. It didn't help that Naruto was utterly oblivious to Neji's hate. "I didn't know you were coming to Neji, I would have grabbed you something. Want me to go back?"

Neji looked down at what Naruto had brought. Two packages of steaming ramen, a cinnamon roll for Hinata, and a giant cookie for him. "No, thank you," he said, turning away for the two of them. Usually, he would leave, but he was way too stubborn to leave his little cousin with this...this creature of yellow light. "N-Neij, you should really eat something," she said, offering him her cinnamon roll.

Now that he thought about it. He was hungry, but he couldn't take that from her, it was her favorite. That cookie, on the other hand. In one quick but smooth motion, he reached grabbing the cookie off of Naruto's tray, taking a bite out of it. "Hey! That's mine." Despite the bite already taken out of it, Naruto tried to grab it back. Neji kept it just out of reach as he took another bite.

"Aw c'mon, that's not fair! Give it back!" Naruto reached again, almost knocking over his and Hinata's lunch. She pushed Naruto back down, "Naruto, calm down, I'll get you another one okay." The blond slumped down in his seat before getting up. "It's fine, I'll get another one."

Once he was out of sight, Hinata gave Neji a small glare. He gave back an apologetic look. What he did was childish, and he knew it, but he couldn't help it. If Naruto were going to date his cousin eventually, he would have to get used to things like this. Hinata knew that Neji's teasing and insults were just a way of him showing some sort of affection, but it was still mean.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to be nicer." It was almost robotic passing through his smirking lips. Hinata sighed. She knew there was no sincerity behind that. Naruto came back with a cookie shoved half in his mouth, sitting next to Hinata again. Neji decide to pull out his sketchbook, he had every intention of drawing during lunch. This was a mistake. As soon as he made a mark, Naruto was by his side in a heartbeat.

"You draw! That's so cool. What are you drawing? No, no, no, let me guess. Uhhh, fashion! You look like you draw fashion models."

Neji didn't answer, giving him a sneering look. In what way did he look like he drew fashion models? "Okay, not fashion models but their clothing, like a fashion designer." Neji didn't answer again, he would not humor him with his idiotic guesses. "So, are you any good, or are you just practicing? Have you met Sai? He's really good at painting, the best I've ever seen!"

Neji's hand started to shake, gripping his pencil tighter and tighter. He was very good at suppressing his anger verbally, but things in his hands tended to broken or crushed in the process. Hinata noticed this and placed a hand on Neji's slightly calming him down. "Naruto, your noodles will get cold."

"Oh yeah!" He hopped over from Neji's side to Hinata's sitting down again and began eating without a second thought. Neji stared at him with disgust. What on earth did his little cousin see in him? He was about to ask when he saw a flash of red again through the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw Gaara passing by him, over to Naruto's side. The yellow light stopped eating instantly to greet him, "Hey Gaara, what's up. How's your first day going?" Gaara gave him a small smirk that went away as quickly as it came, "It's fine. Do you have those jars I gave you?"

"Oh yeah!" Neji watched the exchange with interest as Naruto shuffled to pull two large mason jars out of his bag. Gaara took them wordlessly and put them in his own bag. "Thanks," he said, walking off without looking back.

"See ya later." Naruto waved before returning to his food. Neji almost, almost wanted to ask how he knew him but didn't. He probably couldn't survive another onslaught of questions from Naruto. Questions did run through his mind, though. Why did he need jars? A collector maybe, but of what? Hopefully, nothing gruesome. Neji was lost in thought for a while until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked over to Hinata, "Hey, the bell rang, lunch is over." He didn't even realize. Packing his bag, saying bye to Hinata, and went on to his next class.

The rest of the day was entirely normal for the first day back at school. A bunch of introductions between teachers and students. Overly easy assignments passed around from class to class. By the end of the day, Neji was leaned against his car, waiting for his little cousin as waves of students passed him by. While waiting, hell, even throughout most of the school day, Neji only had two thoughts in his head. How to fix that painting and if his psychology partner was a potential murderer. The latter passing through his head more and more. Did he really kill his father? How could someone kill their father? Is he really that dangerous? He kind of looks that dangerous. What did he need those jars for? Body parts, maybe? The questions kept popping up one after another until he finally rubbed his temples in frustration.

"Gah, I wish Lee didn't tell me that," he sighed to himself.

"Tell you what?" Neji jumped slightly and turned to see his other friend Ten-Ten standing there with a smile. Ten-Ten was probably Neji's most trusted friend though that didn't mean much to him. She was the same age as him with brown hair tied into two buns, wearing a white collared shirt with maroon slacks. He had known her since middle school and could tell her almost anything. He defiantly was nowhere near as cold to her as he would be with others, but he would still withhold information.

"Nothing. Hey, weren't we supposed to have a class together this year?" Neji breathed, still slightly startled.

"We were buuut I had to change it. There's a new metalwork class that came up at the same time, and you know why I had to take that." Ten-Ten wanted to be a blacksmith who designed weapons. Neji always thought it was a bit weird, but it was what she liked to do. At least she got a choice in her future. "So, you abandon me for some weapons?"

"Well, you could be in a class with me if you didn't take psychology."

"You know why I had to take that class."

"Yeah yeah, your future and all that jazz, but this is our last year of high school. We should be hanging out with each other at all times. We could never see each other again after this year."

"I feel like that's a bit dramatic," Neji chuckled at her exuberance.

"Or not dramatic enough. Listen, it's not too late for you to drop the class. You're going to be in college for psychology for the next eight years, whether you like it or not anyway." Neji almost threw up in his mouth when the words 'eight years' passed through her lips. He almost looked visibly sick. Neji stopped listening to Ten Ten and thought about what she said. Eight whole years of studying something that he wanted nothing to do with; eight entire years of absolute torture.

"Hey, Neji, you okay?"

"Huh, yeah, what was that?"

"I was just saying that you should live a little and go to a party with me."

"No," he responded with a flat tone.

"C'mon, why not?"

"The same reason why I couldn't, not take psychology. My uncle would kill me. Plus, I don't drink."

"Not if he didn't know you went, and I swear to you if I mixed it, you'd love it."

Neji let out a heavy sigh rolling his eyes, "You know that won't work. Something will happen. He'll find out. Then hell I'd probably be home-schooled for the rest of the school year."

"Don't be so pessimistic. You're going to have to live your life sometime, you know, be a teenager for once."

"My life has already been decided for me Ten, I'm just doing the motions."

Ten-Ten stared at her friend. "Neji, that is the saddest thing I have ever heard, and I kinda what to hug you."

"Please don't, I got enough of that from Lee today."

"I can imagine. Speaking of our green friend, where is he?" She looked around to see if he was coming. He usually joined them after school was let out. Neji hoped that he didn't, but that reminded him of something.

"Didn't you go with Lee to that Suna trip?"

"Oh yeah, though I was there more for their metalworking than the martial arts."

"Do you know anything about the major's youngest son? His name is Gaara."

"Hmm, from what I heard, he's bad news. Apparently, he was pretty violent as a kid, like he used to attack people. A lot of people are scared of him over there. They would always whisper when they talked about him like he could be standing right behind them."

Neji's face went pale, his eyes wider than normal. Only one thought to cross his mind. His psychology partner was a murderer. Ten-Ten waved a hand in front of Neji's face, "Hello, earth to Neji. This is like the second time you've spaced out, and it's weird. Also, your cousin is here."

Neji snapped out of it and looked over to the passenger side of his car, where Hinata stood and waved with a smile.

"Hey, why'd you ask about him anyway?"

"Um, I'll text you later. We have to head home. I'll see you later, okay."

"Yeah yeah, I want to see you at that party, I'll text you the details." Ten-Ten waved, walking away.

Both Neji and Hinata hopped in the car. "So, how was your first day back," Hinata chirped?

"Well, fine other than your crazy boyfriend, and I think my partner in psychology could be a potential murderer?" Hinata didn't respond but only stared at him with a slightly shocked expression. "H-he's not my..."

"I know, I know. Won't mention it again." Neji started to pull out of the parking lot when Hinata spoke up again. "So your classmate is a murderer," she said slowly?

Almost as if Neji was waiting for her to say that he spoke up, "So we have this crazy project in psychology where we have to do a full psychological profile on one of our classmates. I got this guy named Gaara Sabaku. He was the red-haired guy that Naruto handed the jars to."

"Yeah, I remember seeing him though today was the first time."

Neji took in a large breath, "Well, it turns out that he's from Suna and he's only over here because people think that he killed his father which Ten-Ten just said that he has a violent past which could mean that he very well might have killed his father." He exhaled, looking over at Hinata, whose face was half shocked half confused. "So…um…have you tried talking to him."

"Well, no…kind of. I said like one sentence to him, and he said two words back."

"Did he sound violent?"

"No. He had an accent, though, so it was hard to tell."

"Neji, you realize these are just rumors, right?"

"I know, I know, and I told Lee I wouldn't tell anyone, but when it's all you think about all day, your mind tends to wander. You're the only one that I would trust to tell, so."

"How about you talk to him, I mean you're going to have to anyway. He's probably not as bad as you think he is."

"I will tomorrow, or maybe sooner than that, I gave him my email and number."

"Oh well, you can't be that concerned then, right."

"That was before I knew he could be a deadly killing machine."

"I'm sure he's not a..."

"I know he's not a crazy killing machine, but this shit been bottled up in my head all day, and it's all just coming out at once." Hinata couldn't help but laugh at his frantic behavior.

"It's okay, Neji. If it helps, I can ask Naruto about him for you. They seem to know each other."

Neji growled. He didn't want that, but it was tempting, "I'll think about it." Hinata hummed in response until speaking again, "How about you finish that painting when we get home. It will take your mind off of things."

"Oh god, don't get me started on that painting." Hinata laughed again as they pulled into the garage at the side of the house. She loved the fact that she saw what he was really like, but it wasn't healthy for him to bottle things up like this. To her, he was always that kind, slightly silly, brother that would tell her anything and everything, but it was a different story with others. They saw him as a cold, serious, short answered young man that would instead brush you off than talk to you. The number of times she would hear girls that liked him be discouraged by others because they say he's cold and heartless; it made her sad. She really wished that would change one day. Have people see him for who he really is. Maybe if he found a girlfriend? Relationships were definitely something he had avoided for many years. She assumed it was because of his extreme trust issues.

"Well, since Hiashi isn't here, I'm going up to paint before he comes up and complains." Both of them made their way out of the garage and into the house, "You're not going to work out first?"

"No, I'll wait until he gets home. Try to avoid him as much as possible." Neji turned to head upstairs when Hinata spoke up again.

"Um, hey, Neji?"

"Hm?"

Hinata paused for a minute, "Um n-never mind, I'll ask later."

"Are you sure, I'm all ears."

"No, it's okay. I'll ask later, really. Don't trouble yourself."

"Okay?"

She decided now was not a good time to ask about him getting a girlfriend. He didn't have much time to himself before her father got home. They both made their way to their respected rooms, Hinata's was downstairs while Neji was upstairs. As soon as he got to his room, he changed into just sweatpants. Usually, he would go down to the basement and workout for a few hours then go up to his room to paint, but Hiashi wasn't home yet. This changed his routine to paint while you can then go work out when he gets home to avoid him even more. Neji wasn't much one for working out, in fact, he hated it, but it was the one thing Hiashi didn't bother him with. 'A healthy body leads to a healthy mind' his uncle would preach all the time. The thought crossed his mind to become a fat, lazy slob just to spite his uncle, but he'd probably get criticized more. Neji sat down at his office chair near the easel and stared at the painting in front of him. At first, he thought about how on earth he was going to finish this thing, but then his thoughts wandered to his psychology partner again. There was no way that this guy could have killed someone. Even if he had, wouldn't he be going to regular school with everyone else? Wouldn't he be in high-security school with guards or something? Guess there was no real proof that he killed his father, or else he wouldn't be millions of miles away from home. Neji checked his phone to see if he received any messages from the red-headed mystery man. The only message was from Ten Ten, probably about this party she wanted him to go to. Rubbing his face, Neji let out a frustrated sigh. There was too much on his mind right now to paint anything. "Maybe I should just take a nap," he whispered to himself, getting up from his chair, flopping on his bed. Next thing he knew, he was jolted awake by a loud banging at his door. He yawned and checked the time. Was he really sleep for five and a half hours? He slowly got up and slumped to the door and opened it, only to find his least favorite person.

"Neji Hyuuga! It is well past dinner. What have you been doing up here."

Neji was too tired to respond quickly, "I was um..."

"You weren't up here working on that incessant hobby of yours, were you?"

"No, I was just..."

"Listen, Neji. I know you kids need some kind of hobby to help with the stresses of life, but you cannot let a hobby become an obsession. You'll be eighteen soon, you need to focus on your schooling."

Neji just stared at him. Somehow, even though he just woke up, he was already tired again. "Hinata was kind enough to prepare a dinner plate for you. Be sure you eat it."

"Right."

Hiashi walked away from his doorway while Neji quietly shut his door back. He didn't know how to feel at the moment. There were too many emotions and feelings running through his brain. Rage because he saw his uncle? Confusion because he got lectured for doing the one thing he wasn't doing? Tired because he just woke up and his uncle made him even more tired? Maybe he felt sick. Sick because he was tired of being scolded all the time. Sick because he was tired of being told not to do what he loved. Sick because he was just tired in general. He had been dealing with this since his father died, and it was only getting worse. Ten years of being stuck in a hole that he couldn't get himself out of were wearing on his mind. Sometimes he wished it would all just end. He slowly walked over to his bed and laid back down, looking out to his balcony. Maybe he should just end it. It would be better than living a life that he wanted nothing to do with. Then perhaps he could be reincarnated as someone else luckier that wasn't tied up and bound to their future. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

The first image that popped into his head was Hinata's. She would be destroyed if he did something so rash, not to mention, blame herself. Then his friends would be upset, probably confused because he never let them know there was a problem. His damn uncle would probably boast to his colleagues that he could have 'fixed' him if he just talked to him. Neji decided against the idea almost as soon as it came up. Maybe he could get a part-time job, save some money then move out after high school. He could find an art college to go to and be up to his eyeballs in debt, but at least he'd be happy. His brain, once again, became overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions, so he curled under his quilt and fell back to sleep.

Neji woke from his bed with less of a paint smell filtering through his lungs. The sunlight that usually poured into his room was covered by dark rolling clouds. His head began to pound as soon as he sat up from his bed. Despite sleeping for so long, he felt exhausted. Today is going to be awful; he could already tell. Neji went through his usual morning routine, showering, getting dressed, brushing his hair, and heading downstairs. This time not only was his uncle and younger cousin downstairs but his baby cousin as well. Hanabi was still in middle school, which meant that she didn't have school until hours after Neji and Hinata. He didn't always see her in the mornings. As much as Neji loved Hanabi, she drove his nerves up a wall and back down into a pit of boiling lava. He knew it wasn't necessarily her fault, she was going through a tough time in her life with hormones and all. Neji went to the fridge to grab his standard cup of yogurt when he noticed the dinner plate still sitting on the shelf.

"Fuck...," he sighed under his breath before grabbing the yogurt and walking over to Hinata's side of the table sitting down.

Hinata didn't even get a chance to say hello before his uncle spoke up. "Neji, I noticed you didn't eat your dinner from last night. Any reason why?"

"I was just tired and wasn't..."

"You've never shown extra fatigue after school before?"

"It was just a long day, and I..."

"Is this due to your painting all night again."

"No, I wasn't even..."

"You really should stop painting anyway, you're not that good." Hanabi decided to chime in.

"Hanabi! That is a terrible thing to say. Neji's paintings are wonderful," Hinata shot back to her in a stern voice.

"Just because you want to be on everyone's good side doesn't mean that I want to be. I tell the truth."

Neji took notice that it was Hinata to correct her behavior, not his uncle. Did he not like the paintings either? Neji had never asked before or, instead, never bothered to. To be honest, it wouldn't surprise him if his uncle didn't like them. His color pallet was rather dull and neutral. A shot of pain ran through his chest. Even though he didn't like his uncle, the thought of him not liking something that he was so passionate about. It hurt. This was confusing. He shouldn't care about his uncle's opinion, right? Hiashi certainly didn't seem to care about Neji's opinion, so why should he grant him the same privilege. Neji rubbed his temples with his fingers. These thoughts were only worsening the headache. He didn't hear what Hinata said after Hanabi's retort nor what his uncle said to stop the argument. His head felt like someone had driven a metal steak straight through the back of his head and out his eye. He had half a mind to go back to his room and go back to sleep. Looking down at his yogurt, the thought of taking one bite made him sick. At some point, he stood up with his bag and started to head for his car. As soon as he reached his car, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He stopped and slowly turned around, "Hey, are you okay?" Hinata's voice made his shoulders relaxed a bit.

"Yeah, can we just go?" His voice was low and soft like he had lost a war. Hinata decided to wait until they were in the car to ask again, but Neji was silent throughout the entire car ride. This did nothing but scare her. Neji always talked to her about everything, but this time nothing would come out. Did her father finally break him? Would she wake up one day, and Neji would be gone from her life? She could not let that happen. When they finally reached the school, Neji just skulked off without saying a word to her. At this point, a bullet wound to the brain would feel better than his head right now. He went straight to class, not bothering to find Lee. He sat down at his seat to find Lee already there. "Neji, how are you this morning?" He contemplated answering, would it be better or worse if he didn't.

"I'm fine." His voice was low and dark, it made Lee a little uncomfortable.

"Are you okay? You seem a little down today."

"I said I'm fine Lee," he said back with a slight growl. Lee was taken aback slightly but decided it might be best to give his friend some space.

"O-ok, let me know if you need anything." Neji didn't look or respond to him. He had a few moments of silence until there was a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, what crawled up your ass and died," Sasuke said, sitting next Neji. He must have heard everything.

"Nothing," he responded shortly. Sasuke stared at him for a second before shrugging, "Whatever, not like I really give a shit."

Thankfully, Lee, before he ran off to his partner before he could fall asleep, and Sasuke ignored him until Kakashi walked in. Once class was well underway, Neji looked around for the redhead, but he was nowhere to be seen. Honestly, he was okay with that today. Neji laid his head on the cold desk, simmering down the heat coming from his head. In no time at all, he fell asleep. He had a beautiful dream. He dreamed the painting he was working on was finished and hung beautifully on the wall of his room. He dreamed of being a painter for the rest of his life. He dreamed of traveling around to all the beautiful places he painted to see them with his own eyes. It was a dream he never wanted to end, but unfortunately, all things came to an end.

"Neji? Neji? Hey, the class is over."

Groaning, Neji slowly sat up from his desk, Lee looking down at him with concern. "Hey, you okay? You slept all through the class."

Neji rubbed his temples, the headache was still there and going strong. Neji stood from his desk, grabbing his bag. "I'm fine," he said shortly, walking away from Lee. He was slightly annoyed that he woke him up. "Okay, would you like me to walk you to class?"

Neji kept on walking, not bothering to turn around. "I'd rather you didn't," he responded coldly, disappeared into the sea of students leaving Lee alone in the classroom. The rest of the day passed by similarly. Classes would go on, and he would either fall asleep or keep his head down. Thankfully no teacher got too angry about it, a few threatening to call his uncle. At lunch, he made his way outside, seeing Hinata and Naruto already sitting at the same table. This time he had no intention of interrupting them. He walked by the table, hoping they wouldn't see him, but that was wishful thinking.

"Neji?" He heard Hinata's voice call out. It hurt to ignore her, but he didn't feel like talking, so he kept walking. This was a mistake. Naruto had taken it upon himself to catch up to Neji, stopping him by grabbing his shoulder. Neji immediately shrugged off his hand turned and glared at the yellow light.

"Hey, Hinata was calling you."

"I'm aware."

Even Naruto, for a split second, seemed taken aback by the amount of ice that surrounded that answer. "Then why don't you go see her, she seemed a bit worried."

"No," Neji started to walk away again, and Naruto tried grabbing him again. This time Neji caught his wrist.

"H-hey? I'm just trying to tell you that your cousin would like to talk to you. No need to be a jerk about it." Neji grip tightened to the point where arm shake.

"Ow, ow, ow, hey, let go!"

Naruto tried to pry his wrist away, but Neji's grip was absolute. As soon as Hinata saw Neji grab Naruto's wrist, she jumped out of her seat and ran over to them. Through Naruto's struggles, she got in between them and tried to pry Neji's handoff. "Neji! Neji, let go of him, please."

It took a couple more pleas before Hinata's words reached his ears. He let go, still glaring at Naruto. Naruto hissed in pain as soon as he was released his wrist, turning a beet red very quickly. "What the hell's your problem, man?"

Neji didn't answer, only turned and walked away. Hinata wanted to go after him, but Naruto's wrist needs some ice, or else it might swell. She decided to help Naruto first then confront Neji on the car ride back. Neji continued on with his cold and silent attitude for the rest of the day. Even going as far as to walk out of one of his classes because the teacher wouldn't leave him alone.

By the end of the day, he sat in his car and waited for Hinata to come by so he could finally go home. When there was a knock on the window, he thought it might be her, but instead, Ten Ten stood there waving. Neji reluctantly rolled down the window "Hey, you didn't respond to my texts last night, not that it matters. I'm dragging you to this party, whether you like it or not."

When Neji didn't respond, his voice went from happy to concerned, "Hey, you okay? Normally, I'd get a smart remark from that."

"I'm fine. Can you go? I'm not in the mood," he said quietly.

Ten-Ten looked at him for a second. Something was wrong, but she only sighed. Sometimes Neji did need space, and he didn't look like he was in the mood for teasing. "Well, I'll leave you alone then. I want you feeling better by tomorrow, okay."

She patted his shoulder before walking away from the car. He thought he could relax after that, but then he heard a softer knock on the other window. Unlocking the vehicle, Hinata quietly sat down in the passenger seat. Neji started the car without saying a word. Hinata went back and forth in her mind on whether to ask Neji how he was doing. The entire incident with Naruto was entirely out of character for him. She had never seen him hurt anybody before, even when he was angry. She waited until school was out of sight to speak up. "Neji, are you..."

"Please don't ask if I'm okay," he said back quietly. He had heard that question many times to count. Hinata fidgeted in her seat. Somehow it seemed colder in the car.

"Um, Naruto's wrist is okay. It's a bit bruised, but he'll be fine. He told the nurse you two were playing a stupid game, so you shouldn't get in trouble."

Neji didn't respond. He didn't care whether Naruto's wrist was bruised or broken. Hinata fidgeted again, trying to think of something to say. Now it felt even colder than before. She continued to squirm around, making the leather seat under her squeak and whine. Neji took note of every movement that she made, every squeal, every whine. It was setting his teeth on edge. After another minute, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Could you stop doing that please," he snapped a bit colder than what he wanted.

Hinata jumped slightly but made it her focus to stop moving, but she wasn't going to give up. "Neji, I-I know you're having a bad day today, but I want you to know that I'm here to help if you need it." Help. Was that what he needed? What could she help him with? Telling her father to fuck off and leave him alone, maybe? She would never do that. No, this was something that he would deal with on his own. He didn't need nor want help.

"I'm okay, Hinata, I don't need any help."

He defiantly was not okay, but she decided against giving a reply. Maybe he just needed some space. It was only one bad day after all; hopefully, he'll be back to normal in the morning. Neji was perfectly fine with her staying quiet the whole ride. He wanted to talk to her, but was it fair to complain to her about her own father. Making her upset was something he hated, and putting his problems on her wouldn't help her at all. Keeping it all to himself was best for this situation. When they got home, they got out of the car in silence. Hinata planned on saying something, anything, but by the time they made it into the living room, her father was sitting on the chair waiting for them.

"Hinata, I would like to talk to your cousin for a minute, please." She stood there for a second, looking up at her cousin with concern. He looked so much more tired then just yesterday.

"Um, father? N-Neji was going to help me with some homework. Do you think..."

"He can help you afterward."

Hinata still didn't move, whatever he was going to talk about wasn't going to be good. She was about to protest again until Neji tapped her with his elbow. They looked at each other for a second until Neji nodded his head for her to go. She let out a slightly frustrated sigh and made her way out of the room. She took it upon herself to hide in the nearest hallway so she could hear what was going on. Neji walked over to his uncle, sitting on the couch next to the chair. He didn't bother saying anything; he knew his uncle would start.

"So, I received a call from one of your teachers today. Apparently, you fell asleep in your class. In fact, when she talked to your other teachers, they said you did the same thing in other classes as well." Neji didn't bother responding. What was the point?

"To add to it, you walked out of one of your classes and sent a boy to the nurses' office."

Damn Naruto for not keeping his mouth shut. Game or not, any student sent to the nurse's office because of another gets an instant phone call to a parent or guardian. Neji assumed this is also how he found out about him sleeping and leaving classes. Knowing Hiashi, he probably insisted on talking to his other teachers.

"Listen, I know you think that I'm harsh on you, but I'm only looking out for your best interest."

This statement confused Neji. Since when did he know what was in his 'best interest?'

"You have got to focus on your schoolwork, and that's why..." he paused for a moment. "That is why I've removed all of your painting supplies from your room."

"You what?!" Neji almost shouted, his voice even cracking just a bit.

Hinata even gasped at this. Without his painting, her cousin would be broken.

"This will include revoking your allowance to buy more supplies. I will not allow you to paint if it is going to affect your schoolwork."

"It's the second day of school, uncle. It's not affecting anything."

"This has been a long time coming Neji, and I have been very patient with you."

"I was just tired today a-and I had a-a headache, and it wasn't..." He was panicking, he couldn't think straight. His head was pounding, his eyes were on fire, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. Hiashi stood from his chair and sighed at his broken nephew.

"I will give them back when you can prove that you are capable of doing both." Hiashi began to walk away from Neji.

"Please." Neji's voice was shaking and low. His uncle stopped for a second, "Please, don't do this."

"I'm sorry, Neji. You have left me no choice. I'm only trying to help."

With that, Hiashi left the living room while Neji stood there, unable to move. Help? Help!? Why were people trying to help him now? He didn't need help. He needed to be left alone. Now because of this so-called help, his entire world was shattering. He didn't know how long he stood there motionless; seconds, maybe minutes. After a while, he started off to his room, not even noticing Hinata standing nearby. She tried to say something to him, but he didn't hear her. He walked right by. Little did he know the sheer damage that Hiashi had caused. Not only did he take his art supplies, but he removed almost all of the pictures out of his room. The only ones that remained where a few that hung on the walls, probably too high for him to reach. Neji felt cold like his soul was just ripped from his body. His room was now colorless, lifeless, and soulless. The same white and brown that the rest of the house was. He slumped over to his bed and practically fell on it. At this point, all the anger, frustration, and hate all came out in one single form; tears. Neji silently cried into his quilt, not bothering to move. He stayed this way until he fell asleep.

It was raining the next morning, the loud boom of thunder waking him up. The familiar smell of paint was devoid of his room. Neji groaned as he opened his eyes. Was it a dream? His eyes adjusted to their environment, looking around his room.

Soulless.

The once colorful walls now mocked him with dull brown and white. Neji whined, burying his head into his bed. His dreams called to him again as his lids started to close again. He would have fallen back to sleep if he didn't hear a soft knock at the door. There was no telling how long it took him to get up from his bed, but he eventually did, going to the door. Hinata was about to knock again when the door slowly opened. She didn't know what to say when she saw him. His usually straight perfect hair was a mess. His pale skin seemed even paler, and his eyes. She had never seen his eyes so bare.

"H-hey, it's almost time to leave for school."

Neji only nodded and shut the door back, getting into the regular routine of getting dressed for school. Hinata waited outside the door, trying to think of what she was going to say to him. Should she apologize for her father being so rash? He probably wouldn't accept that from her. Should she offer some help again? His voice from yesterday rang in her head 'I don't need any help.' He most certainly needed help, but how could she do it. Neji's door opened again, and he walked past her without a word. His keys were the only noise coming from him. She followed him close behind until they got to the kitchen. She trotted in front of him, grabbing his hand to pick up his pace. Her father and little sister were still in the kitchen, and the last thing he needed was them berating him again. She heard her father call them, but she ignored him. What her father didn't realize was that Hinata was furious with him. How could he do this to Neji, who was now just an empty shell of himself? As soon as they got to the garage, Neji began to move on his own again, unlocking the car and sitting down. It was all so robotic. The car pulled out of the house without a word. What could she do? What could she say? Instead of talking, she came up with a plan.

Maybe if she could find someone that he trusts enough to talk to, he'll get better. She hoped that if she found a friend or girlfriend, he could let out all this anger that he was keeping bottled up. It was a long shot, though. Neji didn't make new friends often, and it had been years since he had dated anyone. This was going to be difficult. As they pulled into the school, students were running inside from the rain that was pouring from the sky. Hinata promptly got out of the car, Neji didn't. She waited for him to step entirely out of the vehicle before saying goodbye and running inside. He slowly walked inside, not caring about getting wet. His head was like a heart monitor hooked up to a patient in cardiac arrest. No thoughts ran through his head at the time. He was soaked by the time he made it to class, but he didn't care. Lee and Sasuke were already sitting at their respected seats, with one left in the middle for him. The thought of them even speaking to him made him almost nauseous. He sauntered over to the back of the classroom, sat, and slept. This time, instead of Lee waking him up, it was Kakashi to tap him on the shoulder.

"Though I did say you can do whatever you like, I'm sure you have better things to do than sleep."

Neji sat his head up slowly, his eye adjusting to the bright light of the classroom. He looked up further to find his teacher leaned against the desk next to him with his hands shoved in his pockets. "I'm sorry, Mr…"

"Ah, Ah, No, Mr. or sensei, please."

Neji blinked, "Okay." He started to get up, grabbing his bag to leave when Kakashi spoke again.

"You don't seem like the type to sleep through classes. Your dad sure made you out to be a model student if I recall his frantic phone call."

"He's not my father."

There was a brief pause, "Hm, sorry, didn't mean insult you."

Insult? Was he insulted? He had every right to be, having that bastard compared to his father was inexcusable, but there was no way Kakashi would have known that. "I'm not insulted, he's just…not my father."

The white-haired male pushed off the desk as Neji started to walk away again. "Maybe you should do what he says."

"What?" Neji stopped walking and looked at his teacher, who was walking toward him.

"Do what he says and see how it goes. Maybe things will go back to normal." Kakashi then walked out of the room without another word to him. Do what he says? What his uncle wanted him to do was something he wanted nothing to do with, but maybe there was some truth in Kakashi's words. As far as his art went, as long as he paid attention in class and got good grades, he could potentially get back everything he lost. It was worth a shot, at least.

The next month passed like a blur. During that time, Neji was like a different person. Doing exactly what his uncle wanted, he focused just on school and nothing else. He didn't talk to anyone other than a few words to Hinata when needed. His friends were ignored, his art put aside. He was everything his uncle wanted him to be, and nothing he wanted to be. Neji was the farthest thing from happy. It took everything he had not to go launching himself off his balcony every night. The thought of going to sleep forever sounded sweeter and sweeter every time he dreamed. In fact, the only time he felt happy was when he was asleep in his dreams. In his dreams, he could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. He didn't have to worry about what people expected him to do. He could paint the sky then fly through it. He could picture the mountains and climb them. He could paint rolling fields, thick forests, vast oceans, and no one could tell him to stop. Unfortunately, this had an effect on his sleeping and eating patterns. Because he only felt happy while sleeping, he slept a lot. The more he slept, the less he ate or worked out or did anything for that matter.

Though Hinata was already concerned, when she started to notice him visibly lose weight, she became scared. Neji has never ever been this bad before. Throughout the years of her father frustrating him, he would always talk it out, but this time. He was holding everything in, and he could explode if this doesn't get resolved. What made it worse is that her father was taking no notice to Neji's sudden plummet into darkness. Did he even matter to him? It had taken her longer than she thought to gather enough information to find him, someone. At first, she tried asking different friends of hers if they wanted to talk to him, but his reputation hung over him like a shadow. Her friends she spoke to didn't want to deal with the blizzard that came along with him. Even some of the more desperate ones didn't want to deal with him. So she devised another plan. If she could find a person that was already used to his cold demeanor. Then, maybe, they can get through to him. There was only one girl she knew about that could do that, and she was determined to get her on board.

During Neji's miserable month, he noticed one thing. His psychology partner was nowhere to be found. Now he wasn't necessarily complaining that the kid hadn't shown up for class; he would rather not bother. On the other hand, if Neji failed psychology, he might as well jump off a bridge now because his uncle would kill him. He noticed last week that the redhead would show up for roll but then quickly leave straight after. On the Monday of the sixth week of school, Neji decided that he would follow him. At the very least, if he was a murderer, he might grant Neji the sweet release of death. That day, Neji sat in the back of the class, his now regular seat, where he could see his target. Sure enough, as soon as the roll was called, the redhead got up and left. Neji followed quickly behind.

"Hey," Neji breathed out. His voice was quieter than he wanted; not talking had really affected his voice. He decided just to tap him on the shoulder if he could; this guy was fast. After a minute of practically chasing the redhead, they both ended up outside, heading toward the woods behind the school. The woods at the back of the school were forbidden to all students. It had an eight-foot chain-link fence to keep students and wildlife from getting in or out. Any student caught even trying to get into the forest immediately would get suspended or expelled depending on the circumstances. At this point, Neji broke into a run to catch up with him; he could not get in trouble because of this. As soon as he was in arms reach, he grabbed his shoulder. Gaara stopped without turning around. Neji didn't think about what to say when he caught up to him.

"Um, we need to talk," he said, slightly out of breath. He almost cringed at his own cliché line. They both stood there in silence for a minute, making the air around them severely more awkward than it needed to be.

"In the woods," Gaara said roughly.

"What?"

"We'll talk in the woods. Don't want to get caught." Gaara began to walk toward the woods again.

Neji stood there for a second before silently following behind him. Was he really about to follow this guy into the woods? How on earth would they get in? When they got to the gate surrounding the woods, Gaara went to a specific part of the fence that was secured with zip ties. Gaara dug in his bag and pulled out some scissors and cut the bindings. He crawled through the hole, then turned and held it open for his pursuer to crawl through. Neji hesitated at first but then crawled through the gate along with him. He'd already gone this far, why not? They walked through the woods silently, the only sounds being that came with the forest. Trees were rustling, birds chirping, random movements of animals fleeing due to their presence. Neji took it all in slowly as they walked. He almost forgot he was following Gaara into a forbidden forest. His jaw almost dropped when they reached a small clearing in the myriad of trees. The sun shone perfectly through the tree branches creating the perfect balance between light and shadow. The blowing grass was tall and bright green, contrasting the dark brown patches of dirt spotted randomly on the ground. Perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing was the rotten wooden bench that rested to the left of the clearing. It gave the message that this place had been untouched for years, and it was better for it. Neji was in awe over the entire scene; it would make a beautiful painting. Too bad that would never happen. Unbeknownst to him, Gaara had walked over to the rotting bench and lightly set his bag down. He opened it and pulled out several small glass jars, placing them on the bench one by one. The little clicking sound of the glass snapped Neji out of his daze.

At first, his mind went a little wild, thinking that they might be for body parts, but instead of overthinking it, he just asked. "What are those for?"

Gaara waited until all twenty- four little jars out of his bag before he answered. "Dirt, leaves, sticks, some sand if I'm lucky."

Neji almost wanted to ask why, but he was too relieved that they weren't for his fingers and eyeballs. The boys both went silent. Neji, standing there while Gaara looked around at his environment. "So, you come here every morning?"

Gaara only nodded. So this guy almost gets himself suspended every morning for some dirt and sticks. Gaara began to wander around, picking up random bits of twigs and dirt and putting them in the jars. Neji just stood there awkwardly for a moment watching him. What was he doing here? Was there any real point to all this? "Why did you follow me out here?" Gaara's question made Neji jump slightly; he wasn't expecting that.

"We're partners in class, and you never sent an email or text. You would disappear every morning in class, so I decided to follow you so we could get this assessment done." Gaara stopped for a second then resumed what he was doing again. "You assumed that I had a computer or a phone to send you these things."

"I didn't know you didn't have a phone, and the library is always open, so..."

"I do have a phone."

"Then why did you not..."

"To be completely honest, I lost your paper the same day while I was looking for a hole in the fence."

"Okay," Neji slowly said a bit awkwardly? What should he say next? Should he ask about his dead father or his violent past? Maybe he should ask why he's here and not back home. All these questions seemed a bit too personal.

"So...we're supposed to... you know, analyze each other." Gaara stopped and turned to look at Neji. They locked eyes for what seemed like forever until Neji felt too uncomfortable to watch anymore. "You seem...broken."

Neji was slightly taken aback by this statement. He didn't know how to feel or react. Angry? Confused? Maybe he should agree; he wasn't too far off. "The fuck does that mean?" Neji decided to go with anger, Gaara didn't know him and vice visa. Gaara seemed to think about his words more carefully this time.

"I don't mean to insult you; it's just..." He stopped to think again. "You look like you've lost something."

Gaara resumed putting random stuff in jars while Neji stood there confused. "I've lost things before too." Neji was too shocked he couldn't even speak. Out of everyone, teachers and friends alike, no one was able to guess what happened to Neji. Well, except for Hinata, but that didn't count in his mind. Everyone would just ask, 'Are you okay' and 'I hope you feel better ' until the question got old, and they all just left him alone. Teachers didn't care because he was acing all of his classes without any trouble. Neji really couldn't figure out during that time if that were a good thing or a bad thing. Did they care too much or not enough? He knew he didn't feel good about it, but now some random person without asking any questions just knew.

"H-how, how did you."

"Your eyes are sad, well sadder than when I saw them the first time."

"Wha..."

"And your posture is slouched...a lot" Neji hadn't even paid attention to his posture, but he was right. He was very much slouched over, has he been like that for the past couple weeks. Neji straightened himself up and thought for a moment. What could he possibly do in this situation? His mind was racing, going immediately into defense mode. His answer to the first question already confirmed that Gaara was right. His continued silence and the awestruck look wasn't helping. Neji took a deep breath. He had to stay calm.

"So what, I've lost things. So has everybody else in the world. I'm no different. I'll deal with it as everybody else does."

"I've been broken before. Someone helped me..."

"I don't need any help."

"I never said that you did." Both of them stared at each other. Neji was flustered and angry, while Gaara remained the opposite. The wind blew between them before they started talking again.

"Listen, I just want to get this project done, that's it."

"And I thought that's what we were doing."

Gaara resumed doing what he was doing, which was currently scrapping some bark off of a tree. Neji had to gather his thoughts again. The redhead in front of him kept catching him off guard, and it was tough to get back on his feet. Once again, he was right. This was what this project was all about. Gaara merely guested what he was feeling based on his body language and look, and the way he responded confirmed what Gaara guessed. Then when Neji got offended by his guess, Gaara tried to move the conversation to himself, but he only got angrier.

In conclusion, he was being an asshole. Neji sighed, he needed to relax. There was no need to make an enemy out of someone he was going to have to talk to.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I've had a bit of a rough week…,month actually, and I just...I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's alright. There's no way I could have known that you were having a bad day."

They stood in silence again, "How did you guess the whole 'lost something' thing?"

Gaara just shrugged, "Lucky guess."

Neji stared at him with a blank look "So all that shit about my posture and my eyes were?"

"Bullshit, at least the posture part was. Your eyes do actually look sad. Like you have lost something."

Neji couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. It was the first time he laughed in a month. He didn't know if he laughed because of what Gaara said or the fact that he was mentally exhausted.

"So, um you said you lost something too?"

"Yes, some important some not, all of them hurt." Neji slowly sat down on a patch to green grass. "And you were able to get them back?"

The redhead stopped putting some moss in a jar and looked at Neji, who was picking random blades of grass. He picked up one of his empty jars and walked toward him. "No, not necessarily."

"Then how do you..." Neji looked up to find Gaara squatted down a few feet away from his face. Shocked, he stopped talking and just stared. Gaara put the empty jar in front of him, glancing down at the severed blades of grass in his hand. Understanding the notion, Neji sprinkled the blades of grass into the small bottle.

"Somethings were impossible to get back." Gaara stood and walked back to his bag "Somethings were easy. Somethings I got help."

Neji snorted at his answer, "That was more bullshit, wasn't it?"

This time it was Gaara's turn to snort out a laugh. "It was bullshit with a bit of truth sprinkled on top."

Neji smiled at this. He didn't know if it was the beautiful environment or Gaara weird manner of speech. Maybe it was because he subconsciously was sick of being alone, but for the first time in a month, he was somewhat comfortable. Sure he still had his issues with trust and was only giving Gaara the most minimal information he could, but he could see them becoming friends with time. He was very weird, and his manner of speech was kind of broken or maybe just short. The only problem arose that he could back Neji into a corner within seconds without even thinking about it. If he didn't play his cards right, this Gaara could get him to say whatever he wanted through clever wording.

Gaara started to put all the jars back in his bag and slipped it over his shoulders. "We should probably head back to the school before classes let out." Neji stood up, stretching out his back. "Yeah, good idea." They both walked back in silence through the way they came, but this time it was different. The air around them was neutral, no longer awkward or tense. During the walk back, Neji thought about one thing and one thing only. The one thing he had denied himself for so long.

Just before they made it into the school, Neji stopped Gaara from walking in. "Hey, that help that you got. Did it really work?"

Gaara paused for a moment, "I have some good days and bad days, but yeah, it defiantly helped."

Neji thought about his words carefully. He didn't want to sound too desperate. "Do you think you could...I mean, I don't know who...well."

"Do you have a sheet of paper?" Gaara interrupted.

"Uh, yeah." Neji dug in his bag to pull out his only sketchbook and a pencil. Gaara took the book and began to write something down. "Meet me here next Monday after school. I can introduce you." Neji only glanced at the words before putting his book back in his bag.

"Thanks."

Gaara once again nodded, opening the doors to the school. Classes hadn't been let out yet, so the halls were pretty empty. Gaara walked off to the left, only giving a small wave as a goodbye. Neji waved his hand in response even though redhead couldn't see him and made his way to the library to sit until classes changed. Digging through his bag again, he pulled out his book and looked at the writing just added. Nothing but an address was written down with surprisingly elegant handwriting. Neji had come to the conclusion that Gaara was a mystery that would take time to solve, but the one thing he did figure out. It burned through his mind over and over again. The one thing that gave him the courage to trust a complete stranger just a little bit. Help. He accepted that he needed help. It was the one thing that Gaara made him realize in the woods, and if he didn't get it soon, there was no telling where he would end up.

* * *

So a few more things k

1) Just because two people are paired in this project does not mean they will end up together. I feel like that needs to be said.

2) I gave Gaara an accent but didn't really write it in as an accent. I find reading accents to be a bit difficult not to mention writing one. This might be a lazy cop-out but feel free to insert any accent you like. Just know that people from different villages/cities will not speak in the same dialect as one another.

And that's it, first chapter. Please let me know what you think by review or PM, whichever suits you best. There are probably a TON of mistakes, feel free to let me know about them. Thank you so so much for reading.


	2. Lows and Highs

Yo, How's it going. Welcome back!

WARNING: This story hits pretty hard on depression and thoughts of suicide. If any of these things are triggering to you, I would read something else.

* * *

Neji silently followed Gaara toward the woods again for the second time this week. He hadn't come with him since Monday after a particularly bad week. Tuesday was okay, but Wednesday, it pained him just to remember it.

Sitting on his bed, Neji found it hard not to slip into dark thoughts. What was he to do? Nothing was helping. He'd tried to find a new hobby, a new obsession, but nothing worked. Television bored him. The more he watched, the more he felt like he was rotting away. Music only reminded him of his paintings. Certain songs made him want to pick up a brush and paint what he saw, but he couldn't. He would go on long walks. Very very long walks, but the environment was so beautiful subtly changing from summer to fall. He couldn't do anything to capture that. Sketching only lasted so long. His final sketchbook was almost already full when everything was taken. What was he to do?

It had been a little over a month since his uncle took away his soul. How long would it take for him to get it back? Should he ask? All pros and cons weighed in his head, playing out over and over. If he asked and it went well, he could get his soul back; be his self again. There was also the opposite. If his uncle said no, could he handle it? Neji looked over to his balcony as he had done more and more these days. It would be so easy to just... Neji smacked his palm against his forehead over and over.

"That's not the answer. That's not the answer. That's not the answer," Neji hushed to himself.

He got up from his bed and trudged over to his nightstand, opening the drawer at the front. A small black coded lockbox sat there, the numbers worn from use. Opening the box, it was filled with photos of him and his father in several different locations all over the world. Neji fell back on his bed, flipping through the pictures one by one. Each one made him smile, almost bringing tears to his eyes.

"Where would we be if you were still here?" A harsh knock on the door caused him to jump. He quickly put the photos back, rubbed his eyes, and answered the door. His uncle stood there, staring directly at him.

"Neji, I would like to congratulate you on your grades and your behavior as of late." He walked past Neji into his room. "It seems that that hobby of yours was causing more damage than I thought."

What? Could he not see him? Was his suffering not evident to him? Neji decided against saying anything; he wouldn't listen.

"I realize that you have been feeling a bit down since I took away your drawings, but I feel like these are just mild withdrawal symptoms. You must be strong and stick it out."

"What did you need uncle, I was about to start studying for a test." A lie, but he didn't care. He just wanted his uncle out of his room.

"Ah, well, let me cut to the chase then. I would like you to meet with some of my colleges at the office on Monday after school. I feel like it would be quite educational for you."

"I have somewhere to be Monday," Neji stated flatly.

"Oh? And where would that be?"

In all honesty, he didn't know. He refrained himself from looking up the address so he couldn't convince himself not to go. "Just meeting with my psychology partner. We haven't had time to talk much at school so..." he lied again.

"Ah, well as long as it's for school, I suppose that's acceptable, but I would like to set up a time to reschedule." Hiashi made his way back over to the door.

The question about his soul burned through his brain and out his lips before he could control it. "W-when will I be able to have them back? My paintings, I mean."

It seemed like an eternity before his uncle answered. "I don't think I will be giving them back for a while, Neji. You are doing so well in school, and I would hate for that to regress."

His uncle left his room, closing the door behind him. Neji stood, staring at the door.

"I shouldn't have asked," he whispered to himself. Was all this for nothing?

"I shouldn't have asked," he said a little louder. His brain was starting to fall apart.

"I shouldn't have asked." His voice was shaking, he couldn't breathe, couldn't see straight.

He swiftly turned toward his balcony, ripping open the doors. He leaned over the railing, his grip on it became his knuckles white. It was at least a thirty-foot drop to the ground; that would do it, right? He leaned a bit further. What if this didn't work? It could just severely damage him. He let out a harsh breath, his face wet from tears. Damage or not, anything would be better than this. The wind blew against his face like it was pushing him back. He leaned against the wind. Almost there...

"N-Neji?"

He jumped at the soft voice that came behind him. He turned toward Hinata quickly then looked around his surroundings. What was he doing? What was he thinking? Backing away from the balcony slowly, he ghosted over to his bed, sitting down slowly.

Hinata took a step toward him, "I-I brought you some dinner. Are you hungry?"

Neji shook his head slowly. He wasn't hungry at all, in fact, he felt sick to his stomach. Hinata slowly walked over to his bed and set the tray of food on his end table. She sat down next to him, wrapping her arm around his shaking shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it?" Neji stared at the floor. It wasn't fair, not to her.

"No..." he said, his voice shaking slightly.

It was another lie. One that Neji pained to say down to the bottom of his heart. She sat for a minute, hoping that he would change his mind, but he didn't. Sighing, she got up and left the room. When the door closed softly behind him, he looked up at his balcony again. What just happened could never happen again. Something had to be done.

Neji shook his head at the memory. It was now Friday, and he honestly still didn't feel the greatest, but he couldn't avoid this project. Just like before, Gaara led him past the gate and into the same clearing. He sat near the bench on the same patch of green grass while Gaara took out his jars again. Neither of them said a word to each other. Neji thought about asking him about the location written in his sketchbook, but he didn't want to find any reason to talk himself out of it. He began to pick at the grass again until Gaara stopped and spoke.

"Did something happen?" Neji looked up at Gaara, who was staring at him, his face as blank as ever.

"No," he said, sternly looking back down at the ground.

"Hmm..." Gaara started to continue what he was doing until he stopped again "I think we should come to an agreement."

"What," he bit back a bit too harsh.

"What I mean is...we have to talk more."

Neji stared at him for a second, "Why?" He knew the reason why, but for some reason, he felt confrontational. He just wasn't into the mood.

"Nothing will get done."

He sighed through his nose. There wasn't any reason to get mad or frustrated any further, Gaara was right.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

The shorter male stopped digging in the dirt and looked over to him. "Twenty questions...minus fifteen."

Neji stared at him for a second. Why word it like that? "So, five questions?"

"Yes."

"Okay..."

The redhead began to dig through the grass and dirt again, "There are rules."

Neji raised an eyebrow, "Rules?"

"Yes."

He waited a minute for Gaara to elaborate, but he never did.

"Like," he growled lightly?

"If you're unconformable, don't answer."

"That it," he growled slightly more annoyed, frustrated with his manner of speaking?

"More or less."

Neji just stared at him again. He watched as Gaara dug his fingers through the slightly wet dirt. The redhead picked up a worm and brought it up to his eye level, watching it wiggle and writhe in his figures. Seeing the creature helplessly wiggle made Neji's skin crawl. He felt like that worm. As Gaara slowly put it back in the dirt, Neji looked back down at the grass, picking at random blades again. The world around him filled with the sounds of the forest. Focussing on that was nice.

"When would you like to start?" Gaara said, tearing him out of the lull the forest sounds put him in.

"Start what?"

"Questions."

"Not today."

"That's fine."

Neji stood. He didn't want to be here anymore. "I'm going to go."

Gaara stood as well "It would be better if we went together."

"It's only thirty minutes into class time, you don't have to..."

"Less risk can come with sacrifices." He began to put his jars back in his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

He walked away, while Neji stood still watching him go. He felt a little guilty not only because he was making him leave, but because of his nasty attitude. "W-we can sta-"

"I can come back at a later time or date. It's fine." There was no hint of anger or annoyance in his voice.

Neji only nodded and followed behind. As they made their way past the gate and back down to the school, Neji spoke up. "I... I um. Monday, is there anything I need to know about?"

Gaara stopped before the doors and looked at him again, this time more at his clothes. "Don't wear anything fancy. The more beat up, the better."

Neji tilted his head to the side slightly but didn't ask about it. "Okay?"

They both walked inside the school building, Gaara walked off without saying another word. Neji stood for a minute but then decided it would be best to just go back to class and maybe lay his head down for the rest of the period. He walked back into the classroom, making his way to his now regular spot in the back of the class. Unfortunately for him, Lee spotted him and decided now was the time to talk to him. Before he could even fully settle into the seat, Lee was at his side. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking. His voice was quieter than usual.

"Hey Neji, how have you been?"

Neji didn't respond. He finished putting his bag down, then laid his head on the desk. "Neji, if you need someone to talk to, I..."

"Lee, I don't want to talk to you," he said coldly.

He was in no mood to deal with anyone today, especially Lee. Though Lee was slightly taken aback by this, he didn't falter. "Well, maybe Ten Ten or Sasuke then. You must talk to someone, this isn't healthy. Maybe you could..."

"Lee," Neji said, sitting his head up.

Lee almost looked excited for a moment, "Yes?"

"Go away. I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't want to see anyone. I just want to be left alone." He wanted to glare at him, scare him into leaving, but he couldn't bring himself to even look at him. It hurt too much. "Please just go."

Lee nodded, "I'm always here," he whispered before walking away. Neji once again felt awful. It's not like he didn't want to vent, yell, and scream, but that wasn't him. He didn't like divulging his problems to others, nor wanted to burden them with those problems. He would deal with this on his own; in his own way.

Hinata walked quickly through the school with her mission in mind. If she didn't hurry, her target would escape, and she would have to try again. Due to her cousin's new attitude, her routine had been broken, and she went home a lot quicker than usual. Pushing through the mass of students has been proving to be difficult, and she had lost her several times because of it. It took her a week just to figure out her regular parking spots and another two to attempt to catch her before she left. This time she was more determined than ever. In the past month, Neji hadn't been eating all that well, so she made it a point to bring him food to help him out. Last week, when she came into the room, he was at his balcony leaned over the railing farther than any person should be bending over it. When she called his name, he startled, quickly standing back straight like nothing happened. His eyes were red and puffy like he'd been crying. His voice was shaky and cracked when he would talk. She cried for him that night. The next night she noticed that the balcony door was secured with a heavy chain and padlock. She had her suspicions of suicidal thoughts with him, but seeing his balcony locked confirmed it. Usually, she would tell her father, but he was the main problem, so that threw that plan out the window. She could confront a teacher, but Neji was, despite his situation, an outstanding actor. He could convince them there was nothing wrong in a heartbeat, and they wouldn't look twice about it. Even if they didn't believe his acting, all they could do is tell her father, which brings her step one. So that left her with her original plan. Find someone that he could talk to about her father possibly find him a girlfriend if need be. As she made her way out to the parking lot, she saw her target's car and her mark. She was about to get in her car after talking to what looked like Lee. Hinata broke into a run. She had to catch up to her no matter what. Just as the car was beginning to pull off, Hinata slammed her hand on the side of the passenger side window. Ten-Ten jumped in her seat, almost hitting the roof of her car. Gathering herself, she rolled down the window.

"Hey, Hinata. How's it going?"

"Can I..." She breathed, all that running made her out of breath. "Can I talk to you for a second, please. I'll try not to take up to much of your time."

Ten-Ten stared for a minute before nodding her head, "Y-yeah sure, come on in."

She unlocked the car for Hinata to sit down. "Do you want some water? I have some in the back."

"No, I'm okay. Thank you for offering though."

"Yeah, sure." The air was a bit awkward between them for a minute. Though Neji and Ten-Ten were good friends, Hinata didn't interact with her other than a few greetings.

"So, you uh…wanted to talk about something?"

Hinata nodded slightly, trying to shake away the nerves. She realized coming up with a plan and carrying it out were two different mediums. How should she start this? "Um, well, i-it's about Neji. I wanted to talk about Neji."

"Yeah? You know Lee and I were just talking about him. He's been overly cold lately, doesn't even want to talk to me anymore. Did something happen?"

Hinata hesitated. Once she told her there was no going back. If Neji found out about this, she could lose him forever, but if she didn't, she could also lose him forever. The potential for him to be helped was more critical. "My...My father took away Neji's paintings."

Ten-Ten's eyes widened, "What?"

"Not just the painting but his supplies to make new ones as well."

"Hmm, no wonder he's been pretty down lately, but, I mean, it seems like that's something he'd get over, right? Neji's never seemed like one to hold on to things like that."

"You don't understand! Neji's paintings are, well." What were they to him? How could she describe it?

"Painting is Neji's light. It's everything to him. It's the way he talks. It's the way he expresses himself. The way he blows off steam, the way he travels, the way he connects with his..." She stopped. Going on could reveal a bit too much. Ten-Ten could only stare in awe. She never knew it was that important. "Taking away Neji's paintings is like taking away his soul. It's hurting him. If we don't do something, then I don't know what will happen to him."

Ten-Ten sighed through her nose and sat back in her seat. This was a lot to take in. "So..." Ten-Ten stopped to think about what she could say, but no words came out.

"I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in, but I really need your help. I can't help him alone."

Ten-Ten nodded slowly, "Okay, y-yeah, Of course, I'll help. So, what are we going to do? Steal the painting stuff back."

Hinata had to think about what she said next. She couldn't just say, 'I want you to try and be his girlfriend so he can vent about my father.' "I was thinking of something a little subtler. Maybe if you can just talk to him more or take him to more places. Defiantly not leave him by himself as much."

"Whoa whoa whoa, don't leave him alone? What does that mean? You don't think he's...you know? He can't be that bad, right?"

"No! No," Hinata said quickly, maybe a little too quickly.

Ten-Ten wasn't stupid. From what she could gather, Neji was in trouble. But why come to her about this? Why not get an adult for the situation?

"T-there's an art show coming to town next weekend. Do...do you think you can take him?"

Ten-Ten didn't respond.

"I-if money's an issue I can pay for your tickets. My father gives us an allowance every month s-so I have plenty."

"Why can't you take him? I mean, I'm happy to, really. But why me?"

Hinata fidgeted in the seat. How on earth is Neji able to do this day in and day out? She sighed, "I don't think he wants to talk to me or even be around me right now."

"Hinata, you're like his favorite person. Why would he not..."

Hinata just shook her head, "He doesn't want to talk to me, and he won't talk to anybody he doesn't know, so you're well..."

Ten-Ten placed a hand on her shoulder, "Okay, I get it. I'll take him."

"Thank you."

They both fell awkwardly silent. "Um, do you think you could buy those tickets, though? I don't have a job, so..."

"It's fine. I'll get them." Hinata began to get out of the car. "Thank you again. I'll give you the tickets on Monday."

"Okay, cool. Yeah." Ten-Ten watched as Hinata quietly closed the door and walked away. From her understanding, Neji was in trouble, and Hinata was reluctant to go to an adult about it. She decided to play along for right now, but if things got out of hand, she would have to go to a higher power.

The weekends were always extremely difficult for Neji. He just couldn't process what to do. Usually, the weekends were great, painting with little interruption. Now he often found himself sitting on his bed staring at the walls or just sleeping. Currently, he was staring up at his off-white ceiling, getting lost in its abyss. His mind didn't go anywhere; thoughts never wondered. They had nowhere to go. The sound of his stomach growling brought ideas back to his brain. He was hungry but didn't feel like getting up. Eating was never his top priority even before all this mess; now, it was even lower on his list. Most of the time, he felt sick or nauseous. Just the thought of food made him want to vomit, but there were times when his stomach betrayed his mind. His body was numb or maybe asleep; he couldn't really tell.

A little, squeezing pain shot through his gut as his stomach moaned again. He groaned but didn't move. The ache in his stomach was causing the numbness to fade away. Slowly, he moved his hand to his stomach and grabbed it, hoping the pressure would cause the feeling to go away. The sensation of his ribs under his fingertips made him squeeze harder. Only a month ago, there was a solid wall of muscle that would have made it difficult to even feel his ribs, but now he could probably play the xylophone with ease on his bones. Another pain twisted through his abdomen, making him cringe. He slowly sat up from his bed, still gripping his stomach.

"Trader," he growled as he moved out of his bed. He made his way down to the kitchen, still grabbing at his gut.

When he made it to the kitchen, he saw Hinata already cooking something. Was it really that late for her to be cooking dinner? He never really kept track of time anymore. Not wanting to bother her or rather talk to her, he turned to leave the kitchen; he'd come back later.

"Neji?"

He stopped without thinking.

"A-are you hungry? I can make you a plate if you like?"

Neji stared back at her with hollow eyes. He wanted to go back upstairs and endure the hunger, but once again, his stomach betrayed him growling loudly. Hinata put down the pan and turned off the burner. She walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to the bar attached to the kitchen.

"Sit down, I'll get you a plate."

Neji slowly pulled out one of the stools and sat down. He almost prided himself in completely ignoring Hinata for the past month, but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to leave. He heard her rustle through cabinets then the scraping of the pan. When she placed the plate in front of him, he could only smirk. Stir-fried soba noodles with vegetables and beef, close to one of his favorites. She sat next to him with a plate of her own

"I would have put herring in it, but I didn't know you were hungry."

"That's fine," he whispered back softly.

They ate in silence, Neji was slower than Hinata. She was done with her plate before he made it a quarter of a way through his. By that time, he just picked at the plate.

"I'm sorry," Hinata sighed suddenly. Neji only looked over to her with a bit of confusion.

"I kind of piled it on," she said nodding toward his Neji could respond she started talking again. "I just got so excited that you came down to eat, and I didn't want to give you too little and..."

"It's okay, Hinata." There was almost a hint of humor in his voice. He missed her rambling, her voice.

"I miss you," she whispered, stealing the thoughts right out of his head. He missed her, too, but this was for the best.

"I um..."

"Well, look who crawled out of his hole."

Both Neji and Hinata looked up to see Hanabi at the bottom of the stairs looking up from her phone.

"Hanabi please...," Hinata tried to say before more words came through Hanabi's mouth to no avail.

"You know, whatever this is that you doing, you should get over it."

Neji only glared then got up to leave. He didn't want to deal with this right now. He moved to go back up the stairs, but Hanabi got in the way. "You're a selfish prick, you know that."

Neji sneered at her. "Fuck off, Hanabi," he growled, moving past her.

"I'd tell you the same thing if you hadn't been doing that all month," she said, raising her voice slightly. Neji only continued up the stairs.

"Your behavior doesn't just affect you, you know," she yelled as he disappeared.

"Asshole," she growled under her breath, sitting down where Neji was and began picking at what was left of his food.

"Why do you have to be so mean to him? You know he's having a hard time right now," Hinata said sternly, looking at her sister.

"He needs to grow up and move on like any normal person would do," Hanabi snapped.

"You just don't understand..."

"You're right, I don't understand," she yelled! "I don't understand why he's acting this way. I don't understand why he can't see that it hurts us, too, and I really really don't understand how to help him."

Hinata looked at her sister in shock. It sounded like Hanabi was about to cry. She wrapped one arm around Hanabi's shoulders and pulled her toward her until Hanabi's head rested on her shoulder. "I don't know how either, but I'm going to figure it out, okay? Just try to be nicer to him while he's going through this." She felt her younger sister nod against her shoulder. Hanabi was a tough girl. There was hardly a time when she was openly sad like she was now, but it was nice to know that she cared.

"Let me know if I can help," Hanabi murmured softly. Hinata only nodded, holding her sister close for the time being.

Monday couldn't have come soon enough. After the incident with Hanabi, Neji just stayed in his room for the rest of the weekend. He didn't want to run into her again, not knowing if he would be able to control his words or actions while around her. Despite being locked in his room all day Sunday, he was in a better mood than he had been that last week. He didn't know if it was Hinata or maybe the mystery place he was going to, but he felt more normal. As he went through his usual routine, he made sure to grab an extra set of old clothes for this whatever it was he was doing after school. Everything played out as a typical morning for him. He waited in the car for Hinata, drove them both to school then went to his psychology class without a word to anyone. After roll was called, Gaara got up to leave, and Neji followed him. They walked silently outside to the usual hole in the fence. Gaara did as he did the two times before opening the hole and holding it open for Neji to crawl through. He was still always taken aback by the sheer beauty of the forest. He never really looked at where they were going because he was too busy looking at his surroundings. Maybe one day he could capture it. They made their way to the same clearing they always go to. Gaara walked off with one jar in his hand while Neji laid down by the bench in the grass, letting the blades tickle his face and arms.

"Would you like to start the questions today?" He heard Gaara say from a distance.

"I'm fine with that," Neji droned out. He didn't really want to, but he might as well get this over with. Five questions couldn't be too hard.

"Would you like to start?" Gaara asked.

"No, you go ahead." This was more of a test than him being polite. He wanted to see how personal Gaara was going to go with these questions. If he went to private, he could always refuse to answer, but it also gave him the opening to ask something just as personal. There was a long silence for a while before Gaara spoke again.

"What's your favorite color?"

If Neji weren't already lying down, he would have hit the floor. Favorite color? What kind of question was that? Neji sat up on his elbows and looked at the redhead with a confused look, but Gaara wasn't even facing him.

"Um, hmm..."

Now that he thought about it, what was his favorite color? He loved all colors and the words they spoke. If he had to come down to it, he really liked the color purple. It was a rarity in nature, which made it stand out beautifully no matter what you put it in. He loved how mysterious it could make a painting, but how it also somehow brought peace and wisdom. But the color purple wasn't enough. There were so many different shades of purple to choose from, each holding their own place and meaning. The actual color purple was much too saturated for his liking, while something like lavender wasn't saturated enough. Violet was much too dark, plum held too much red, and heather might as well be gray with some hints of purple mixed in. Neji sat up fully and began to pick at the grass, racking his brain through all the different shades he could choose from. Neji didn't realize Gaara was looking at him with slight amusement on his face. He turned away just as Neji looked up with an answer.

"Orchid," he said, seeming finite in his decision.

"A flower?"

"Yes, it's a flower, but it's also a shape of purple." To be honest, Neji found it hard picking between orchid and amethyst, but amethyst was just a gentle touch too dark for his liking.

"Alright, your turn then."

Neji scratched at his chin. He was so busy trying to think of his favorite color that he forgot to think of a question for Gaara. Thanks to his fundamental question, Neji didn't feel comfortable asking anything personal.

"Uh, what's your favorite food?" He felt stupid, not being able to think of anything better, but they had to start somewhere.

"Spicy duck tongue and gizzards are really nice."

Neji immediately regretted asking as he put on a face of disgust. He couldn't be serious, right? Maybe this guy was a murderer because only murderers could possibly like something that sounded so vile. And it was spicy too. To this day, Neji never understood people who loved or even tolerated hot dishes. Why would anyone want the feeling of their mouth and insides burning like a fiery furnace?

"Do you like animals?" Gaara said, snapping Neji out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I like them." Neji had entirely no problems with animals. In fact, he would own one if his uncle didn't think it would be a distraction. He especially loved painting them. They made an environment more real and added a particular type of movement that helped a painting flow. Gaara didn't need to know all of that, though. It was once again Neji's turn to ask the next question, and once again, he really didn't have anything to ask.

"Do you like Tv, or have a favorite television show?"

Neji felt like he was back in elementary school, where teachers would try to force friendships by asking stupid basic questions. Honestly, he didn't care about the answer to this one; he didn't like television. Most kids his age couldn't stop going on and on about the next new show that just aired or a returning season of whatever the hell. Neji never understood the craze behind it. Why watch television when he could paint. Ten-Ten would even call him a grumpy old man when he complained about have to watch a show with her. Gaara stopped snapping twigs off of trees and tilted his head to the side. Neji figured he was racking his brain through different shows, much like he did with the color question.

"I don't watch television at all. It's just so…"

"Boring," Neji finished his sentence without thinking.

Gaara nodded and looked over to him, "Predictable."

"A waste of time."

"There are more important things."

"Exactly." The silence drew over the two boys again.

Neji was kind of shocked that someone his age had the same opinion as him and didn't know what to say afterward. The sounds of the forest filled his ears again. Even though he was a bit anxious about these questions, he felt relaxed. In fact, this was the only place where he felt relaxed now and days.

"Time of the year."

Neji looked up at him. "Time of the year?"

"A season."

Oh, he was asking was his favorite season. That was another hard question. Much like color, he loved each of season because they spoke their own words. Once again, when it came down to it, it depended on which one he liked painting more. Summer and winter were defiantly out. When it came to Konoha, these two seasons were the most boring, only showing off two primary colors, white and green. Spring and fall, though, that was hard to choose from. Both offered a plethora of colors and practically transforming the entire environment. He found it funny that spring brought forth such cool colors: blues, purples, greens, while fall provided warmer tones: yellows, reds, oranges, but the temperature was doing the opposite. Once again, he couldn't decide.

"Um, spring or fall. It doesn't matter which." He started picking at the grass again.

By the end of the year, the place he sat would become barren if he didn't stop. Gaara didn't respond to his answer, which seemed to mean he was satisfied with the response.

"Do you listen to music or have a favorite type." Another fundamental question, but they really haven't gone past the basics.

"Modern classical of any form is fine."

Neji looked up from the grass. "Really? Like who? What composer?"

Gaara turned and looked at Neji, curiosity was hinting on his face. "Thomas Bergerson. The song promise is...nice."

Neji hadn't heard of that composer, but he might check him out.

"I suppose you like the same?"

Neji nodded, "Zack Hemsey."

Gaara smirked, nodded then turned back around. Neji didn't expect to have anything in common with Gaara, in fact, he imaged they would be severe opposites. It was weird having someone like the same things he did. No one his age really liked the same things he was into, not even Hinata. He didn't get to talk about music or go into great detail about his paintings because no one cared that much about it or just didn't understand. He wondered if Gaara knew anything about painting or art in general.

"We should head back," Gaara said, packing his jars back in his bag.

"We haven't gotten to five yet."

"I've learned enough for today."

Neji was slightly confused by this. What did he learn from all this? Maybe the same things he did, that they had some things in common. They began to walk out of the woods in silence until Neji's curiosity got the better of him. "What exactly did you learn?"

Gaara stopped. "Nothing much, to be honest, I didn't quite know what to ask you. I had no thoughts in my head."

"But, you said you learned something?"

"You like art, don't you or at least some form of it?" How on earth did he gather that? The questions were so basic, elementary even. What could have possibly given him that impression? "Why would you say that?" Neji didn't want to give a yes or a no.

"Most people don't think so hard about a favorite color or season."

Damn, he was right. Not many people think for five whole minutes about something as simple as a color. Seasons are usually chosen because of temperature or allergies, not on what looked more pleasing to the eye on canvass. Well, there was no use in hiding it now.

"I paint environments." He wasn't going to go as far as to tell him that he could no longer do so. That shouldn't matter to him. He looked up to Gaara to find him, to his surprise, smiling a small, almost unnoticeable smile.

"I would like to read them one day. If you wouldn't mind."

This time the shock on Neji's face was utterly apparent. His eyes wide and mouth agape. Did he really care about that? Did it matter? It's not like he would be able to see them anytime soon. What did he mean by read them? "Uh, sure." It was all he could say as they both continued to walk back to the school.

For some odd reason, Neji was in deep thought about the questions and answers from this morning. Maybe there was more to these questions than what he was thinking? Gaara was able to deduct the most crucial thing about Neji through some fundamental questions. All Neji got was that they had only two things in common. There had to be more behind his answers. Neji was now leaning against his car, looking up to the white billowy clouds floating by.

"Doesn't like television, modern classical and salted tongue," he whispered to himself. His face contorted into a grimace when he remembered his answer to the food question.

"Disgusting," he growled out.

"What's disgusting?" Neji jumped slightly and looked in front of him.

Ten-Ten was standing there with a small smirk on her face. "Nothing," Neji said shortly, looking away from her. He didn't want to talk to her and was honestly a little upset that she interrupted his thoughts.

"So, uh, I wanted to ask you something?"

"What?"

She pulled her bag around to her front and dug into one of the pockets pulling out a small slip of paper. "I know you've been kind of down lately, and I want to help so here."

Neji took the slip of paper from her hand and looked at it. It was a ticket to an art show very specifically for environment painters. "Since you didn't go to that party, I figured we could go to something that you liked, you know. So, I got these."

He looked to see she also had a ticket in her hand, as well. It seemed like a waste. Ten-Ten wouldn't enjoy something like this, nor would he enjoy going with her. Yes, it was better to go to these things with someone, but it needed to be someone that also enjoyed or respected the craft. It was either that, or they just take one look say it's pretty and move on. He did want to go through. Maybe he could wander off on his own without her noticing.

"Thanks, I'll go," he said quietly.

Ten-Ten jumped with joy, "Awesome! Then I'll see you next weekend," she said, practically bouncing away.

Neji stared at the ticket in his hand, then Ten-Ten bouncing away. Maybe he shouldn't go.

"Hey, Neji." He turned to find Hinata on the other side of the car. He didn't say anything, just unlocked the car and sat inside. Hinata was fidgety in the car again. It had become commonplace for their car rides.

"Um, w-what did Ten-Ten want to talk to you about?"

Neji shook his head, "Just an art show," he said flatly.

"Oh, I bet you'll really enjoy that. Maybe there will be an artist there that you'll like."

"Hmm," was his only response. He knew Hinata had something to do with this, but he didn't want to make her upset. Maybe this was her vision of helping him. Speaking of that, "I going to drop you off at the house today, I've got to be somewhere."

"Oh, where are you going?"

"I don't know."

Though she probably didn't see it this way, what he said was the complete and utter truth. "Oh, ok," Hinata said sadly.

They went silent for the rest of the ride home. As Hinata got out of the car, Neji stopped her. "Hey, I wasn't lying earlier. I really don't know where I'm going."

"Y-you're coming back, right?"

Neji seemed to think for a minute. Would he come back? "I don't know."

Hinata nodded, "Just be safe, okay?"

"Okay."

She stared at him for a second before walking inside the house. Plugging in the address into his GPS, Neji pulled out of the garage to head in the right direction. As he drove his and the time of arrival grew shorter and shorter, his anxiety began to shoot through the roof. The environment started to shift around him from the large houses and people walking their dogs on the sidewalk to nothing but trees and a long windy road with no people in sight. Neji took a deep breath and blew it out of his mouth.

"It's okay," he said to himself. "This is meant to help."

The grip on his steering wheel increased as he drove up on the first man-made thing he's seen in the past ten minutes. A large gate easily twenty feet tall stretched as far on both sides. As he pulled up further, a sizeable wooden sign clearly carved from a tree trunk came into view. 'Kohana Forest Animal Sanctuary' was cut into it with a picture of a raccoon and owl below the letters. Neji stopped just to stare at what was in front of him. An animal sanctuary? Was he in the right place? Neji slowly drove up to the gate were a call box was located. He hesitantly pressed the button, waiting for someone to answer.

"Hello, how can I help you?" A woman answered through the intercom.

"Um, I was told to come here by Gaara Sabaku. My name is Neji Hyuga."

"Huh? Why would he? Hold on." The intercom went silent.

Neji squeezed the steering wheel again, it squeaked under pressure. He could feel his palms begin to sweat, and his heart rate increase. Maybe he should turn around. It didn't sound like he was supposed to be here. After a minute, Neji almost did just that until the intercom came back on.

"Listen, Neji, I'm going to let you through. Just drive straight until you hit the main building. Okay?"

"Uh, sure."

A loud, buzzing noise rang through his ears, and the massive gate began to pull open. Neji drove through the gate slowly. The road changed from gray concrete to brown dirt and gravel. There wasn't much to see as he drove, just more trees the occasional fence here and there. A large white building came into view, where a familiar shade of red became to make itself apparent. Gaara was leaning up against a wall still in his school uniform, staring at nothing-in-particular. Neji parked the car and walked up to him, paying attention to his surroundings. Though the forest was nothing new, the sounds coming from it were very different. Squeaks, roars, and bellows of different animals filled his ears.

Neji gave a small wave, "Hey."

"Hello."

They stood in awkward silence for a second. "So, an animal sanctuary?"

Gaara nodded, "The one that helped me is here."

"Hmm." The amount of awkward Neji felt shot through the roof. These surroundings were not as calming as the forest at school, and Gaara's short manner of speech wasn't helping. Gaara simply turned and opened the door.

"We should probably change first," he said, holding the door open for Neji.

Neji only nodded and followed behind him. The front of the building was large and a clean front lobby, reception area. The colors were in his eye's odd. It was all to white, it reminded him of a hospital. The only different tone was the baseboard trim and the furniture. It was dull and downright clashed with the colors outside. It immediately put a frown on Neji's face. As Gaara walked toward two double doors that said 'employees only' the receptionist looked up from her computer.

"Gaara, can you please let me know next time you bring a guest. I don't want to hunt you down again."

He nodded in response, "I apologize, I will let you know next time," he stated as he went through the double doors. The strange noises of birds squawking and other random animal noises were overwhelming as they passed by several rooms with cages off different sorts of animals. It also didn't smell too great either.

Both boys entered a locker room, Neji setting his bag on one of the many benches. Gaara opened one of the lockers, took out a pair of clothes, and began to unbutton the collared shirt he was wearing. Neji just stared without really realizing what he was doing. "There are private changing rooms beyond those doors if you more conformable."

Neji shook head and began to unbutton his shirt as well. He had no problem changing in front of another guy, several years of gym taught him that but he turned around never the less. Neji changed into an old black t-shirt and some worn jeans while Gaara wore a forest green t-shirt with the same signage as tree stump out front and some old jeans.

"So, you work here?"

"Only for a little over a month."

"Right before starting school?" Gaara nodded, then held his hand out. "I can put your bag in my locker."

Neji nodded, stuffing his school clothes into the bag and handing it off. After putting it in the locker, Gaara headed for the door again.

"If you follow me, I'll introduce you."

Neji followed him out of the locker room and down another hallway. They passed by a few people that he didn't recognize even though they would wave hello as they passed. Neji would only slightly bow his head in response. Gaara finally stopped at a door that had the word 'Procyonidae' on the front. He opened it once again, holding the door open for Neji to go first. He walked in only to step to the side for Gaara to make his way through. Looking around the room, it was full of giant metal cages that lined both sides of the room, leaving a vertical path straight to another door. The room was mostly silent other than a few shuffles here and there, and a weird growling noise coming from the far back left cage in the room. Neji leaned in to see if any other animals were in the cages, but they all seemed to be empty other than that one cage. Gaara walked over to the cage while Neji hesitantly followed. The noises from the pen didn't seem friendly at all. Gaara kneeled in front of the cage, the sounds changed from growling and hissing to noisy chatter. Neji walked over to him and kneeled next to Gaara, who had a small smirk on his face. He was slightly surprised at what was in the cage. An overweight raccoon chattering and doing circles in the cage waiting to be released. It wasn't necessarily the animal that shocked Neji but his coloring. The standard black and gray fur was more of a blond sandy color, and the black mask was instead a light brown color. Gaara opened the cage, and the raccoon immediately jumped out and tried to shuffle to his shoulder, but its big belly got in the way. Neji couldn't help but smirk at the raccoon's attempts. Gaara picked up the animal and placed it on his shoulder, where it started to go through his hair.

"This is Shukaku. He's the one that helped me."

Neji could only stare with a mixture of confusion and amusement as Shukaku began to chew on Gaara's shirt.

"Uh, well, it's nice to meet him." Neji raised his hand for the raccoon to sniff, but the creature growled and slapped his hand away. Neji jerked his hand away while Gaara chuckled. "Sorry, he doesn't really like anyone else."

"Okay," Neji said slowly. "So, how is he supposed to help me?"

"It's not necessarily him that will help you, but what he is."

"A raccoon?"

"An animal."

Neji gave a slightly confused look as Gaara pulled Shukaku off his shoulder and placed him on the floor on his back and began to scratch at his big belly. The raccoon chattered again, nibbling at his hands as he scratched. "It might seem silly, but you can talk to them. Vent if you have to. They also keep you busy."

Neji nodded, understanding what he meant. Instead of keeping things to himself like he was, he could get a pet of some sort. Taking care of one would also be something he could do when he felt lost, but there was one problem. His uncle wouldn't allow a pet in the house.

"I can't get a pet, and I'm sure I can't come here every day to talk to the animals."

"Get a job here."

Neji's jaw slightly dropped. He said that so nonchalantly like it was that easy. Before Neji could protest, the door behind them slammed open. Shukaku jumped and tried to run back on Gaara's shoulder, only getting there with Gaara's help. Neji slightly jumped as well, watching a young man with wild brown hair and gray hoodie walked in.

"There you are. That little turd wouldn't come out of that cage for anyone today. He bit four people, including me."

Gaara stood, giving a small bow, "Sorry about that. I'll try to teach him better."

Neji stood as well, looking at the boy. He seemed very familiar but couldn't place him.

"Hey, wait a minute, your Neji Hyuga, right?"

"Yes, and you are?"

The boy slightly scoffed, "What do ya mean, and you are? I'm like one of your cousins' best friends. I came over to hang out just a few weeks ago."

Neji shook his head, "I don't recall."

The boy let out a frustrated sigh, "Kiba Inuzuka, alright. Don't forget this time."

Now that he heard the name Neji remembered him. Out of Hinata's loud friends, Kiba was about second to Naruto, which meant that he ignored him as much as possible.

"What are you doing here, anyway? This doesn't seem like your kind of scene."

"He wants a job," Gaara spoke before Neji could get a word out.

"What?" both Neji and Kiba said at the same time looking at the redhead.

Gaara didn't respond any further than that absently scratching the top of Shukaku's head.

"So, you, Mr. Neji perfect Hyuga, wants to work in the dirt and shit, huh? I have to say I'm a little surprised. Figured you'd want to work at some fashion agency or something."

Neji glared at the boy, what was it with people thinking he wanted to go into fashion. Just because he dressed nice and groomed himself properly did not mean he was into clothing. Kiba's comment made him angry.

"If there is a job position available, then I would gladly apply for it," Neji said without necessarily thinking.

"Do you even have any experience with animals?"

"I didn't, when I started here," Gaara spoke up before Neji could speak again.

"That's not the same, Gaara. You have that devil incarnate you've been taking care of. Neji doesn't have that experience."

"We all have to start somewhere," Gaara said back with no real emotion to his voice. Though it didn't seem like Gaara cared, Neji could tell he was trying to help him out and couldn't help but feel appreciative.

Kiba let out a slight growl, "Fine, I'll take you to my sister. She'll give you the application, but I'm not making any promises," he said, turning toward the door.

Gaara and Neji followed behind in silence as they made their way further into the building. This was when Neji realized what he's agreed to. Anxiety shot through his body, making his chest hurt. What the hell was he doing? He couldn't get a job. Kiba was right; he wasn't qualified for this. He didn't even know the last time he'd touched an animal. They walked until they hit a more office-like section of the building. Well, there was no way out of this now. Telling Kiba 'never mind' would strike out what tiny amount of pride Neji had left. He tried to think positive. Maybe this would help. It would undoubtedly make his weekends less empty. Hell, he had come this far, why not? Kiba knocked on one of the doors until he heard an answer then walked inside, followed by the others. The room was a typical office space with a desk, file cabinets, and random pictures of families and animals. A woman that looked a lot like Kiba sat at the desk typing on her laptop.

"What is it that you need, Kiba? You're supposed to be feeding the wild dogs right now."

"I wouldn't be here for no reason, Hana. I have someone that wants a job," he mumbled flatly.

She looked up from her laptop at the three boys then let out a sigh. Neji immediately straightened his posture and held his breath. He hoped, prayed that she wouldn't turn him away. He didn't if he could handle the humiliation.

"Gaara, I've told you a thousand times you can't bring Shukaku into the office area."

Neji let go of his breath through his nose, relieved that she didn't shoo him away. "Now go put Shukaku in his enclosure and do your job. I'm sure the rest of the Procyonidae's are hungry by now." Gaara gave a small bow again "Yes ma'am, I apologize for breaking the rules again," he said flatly.

He turned and left without another word making Neji feel a lot more unconformable. "Kiba, you go do your job as well, and you, young man, I'd like you to sit here." She pointed at the chair on the other side of her desk.

"Yeah yeah whatever," Kiba said, leaving the room. Once Kiba had gone and shut the door behind him, she started to pull out some papers from a drawer, placing them in front of Neji.

"What's your name?"

"Neji Hyuga," he said shortly.

"You eighteen yet?"

"No, I turned seventeen just a few months back in July."

"Alright, well, fill out this application, and because you're not eighteen, I'll need you to have this form signed by your parents."

Neji's heart sunk. There was no way his uncle would allow him to work here with permission. He must have made a face without realizing it because she spoke up again. "If you can't get it signed, you can still work here, you just wouldn't be able to touch any of the animals. To put it simply, you'd be on cage duty."

Neji nodded though that isn't particularly what he would want. The whole point was to interact with the animals.

"Fill out the application by Friday and have it back to me, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am, thank you."

"I got a lot of animals here, kid. I need as much help as I can get. Now run along. If you get lost, someone in the halls should help you out," she said, turning back to her laptop, typing again.

Neji got up slowly, taking the papers and walked out the door shutting it behind him. He was about to try and find someone when he heard a familiar weird chatter to his left. There Gaara was kneeling down, scratching Shukaku's belly while the raccoon decided to bat his hands away, nibbling at his fingers. Neji felt slight relief when he saw Gaara there. He wasn't looking forward to getting lost in this place.

"I thought you had to put him up," Neji said, walking over to him. Gaara stood up, picking up his fat raccoon in the process, helping him on his shoulders.

"I didn't hear that."

Neji almost fell over. "You and I both know that's bull," Neji slightly chuckled.

Gaara only smirked and began to walk down the hallway. "Hearing can be selective."

Neji was slowly beginning to realize that Gaara wasn't very good at following the rules, which right now he was okay with. "Well, thanks for waiting."

Gaara gave a small nod in response. The two boys made their way back to the locker room, but not before a lady tried to stop Gaara from going past the double doors because of Shukaku. Neji thought they would get in trouble, but Gaara just blew her off like she didn't even exist. An added bonus was when she reached for his shoulder, and Shukaku scratched her hand with his sharp nails. Neji almost felt the need to apologize but kept walking with Gaara instead.

"You're not going to get in trouble for that, are you?"

"For what? I didn't see anything?"

This time Neji laughed out loud at his antics. "You have selective sight too?"

Gaara chucked, "Maybe."

Neji left the sanctuary with a lifted spirit. For once in a long time, he felt kind of happy. This might actually solve his problem, at least for a little while. Even if he could figure out a way for his uncle to sign the paper, cleaning cages would be better than sitting in a lifeless house. He didn't want to get his hopes too high though, there were still things that could go wrong. Even though Hana seemed kind of desperate, he could still not get the job because of his lack of experience. Then there was the real trouble, his uncle. He didn't know how his uncle felt about part-time jobs but, knowing him, he wouldn't approve. Anything that wasn't psychology or school was a distraction. Nothing could get in the way of that. Plus, though this was minor, working with Kiba didn't sound all that exciting, either. Never the less, the pros outweighed the cons heavily, his mind flashing back to his locked balcony.

He took a deep breath "It won't come to that," he whispered to himself as he pulled into the garage of his house. He was slightly shocked to see his uncle and Hinata prepping for dinner in the kitchen. Was it really that late?

"Neji, your back," Hinata said with a bit of relief in her voice.

"And just where did you go to be out so late," his uncle questioned, not looking up from mixing whatever was in the bowl?

Neji thought for a moment, not wanting to give too much information. "I told you I was with my psychology partner. We didn't get a chance to talk in class, so I met with him at his job."

Hiashi only grumbled at his answer. Neji took notice and figured this would be his chance to ask. "Do you not approve of him having a job," he said, walking over to one of the bar stools and sitting down.

"You kids should be worried about school and your future, not your next paycheck."

Well, that answered that question. There was no way he was getting that signature. Maybe cleaning cages wouldn't be that bad. Hiashi's phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts. He handed the bowl to Neji and walked into the dining room. Neji looked down at the bowl seeing a white and dark green mixed with a half-beaten egg in it. He was about to question it when Hinata spoke up "It's for spinach puffs. Can you continue to mix that for me?"

"Yeah, of course," he nodded.

They both of them went silent, the only noise coming from Hiashi's phone call. Even with seeing and talking to his uncle, Neji's mood was a lot better than it had been in a while. If he could just figure out a way to get Hiashi's signature, things would be better. Hinata tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump. "That's enough, mixing. Thank you."

"Oh yeah, no problem."

Hinata took the bowl and began to spoon it on the pastries. "So, um, did you learn anything about your partner?"

"What?"

"U-um your psychology partner. You said you met with him. How'd it go?"

"Fine, he's very um...peculiar. Kind of, weirdly funny. I don't know."

That was defiantly the best way to describe his partner. No other words really worked. Hinata let out a small laugh, "Do you still think he's a murderer."

He almost forgot he told her that. Honestly, the more he talked to Gaara, the less that thought was even in his head. "I think I was overthinking things when it came to that," he chuckled.

Hinata stopped filling the pastries and looked up at him in shock. Neji looked at her, confused a small smile gracing his lips, "What?"

"T-that's the first time I've heard you laugh in a while, and you're smiling too."

Neji looked down at the table, slightly ashamed. "Oh, well. I feel better than I have in a while."

Hinata almost jumped for joy, "That's great, Neji!"

Neji smiled at her sheer joy. He loved seeing her happy, and unfortunately, that was somewhat rare now and days. He was about to reply when Hiashi came back into the kitchen.

"Is everything okay?" Hinata asked.

"Yes, someone forgot to make copies of a patient's records that are being transferred. I have to run up to my office and fax them, then I'll come back and help you."

Neji's eyes widened as Hiashi left the room. Copy. That was the solution. He would just copy Hiashi's signature. The only problem was he didn't know what it looked like. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. A quick trip into his office would fix this problem, but he would need to make sure Hiashi didn't go in there for at least a few minutes. It shouldn't be too hard, but he needed a guarantee.

"Hey, can I get your help with something?"

"Of course. What do you need?"

"When uncle comes back down here, can you make sure he stays down here for a few minutes."

"U-um okay, but why?"

"I'll tell you if I'm able to do what I need to do. I don't want you getting in unnecessary trouble." That was a half-truth. Hinata was a horrible liar, and one stern look made her break. If he revealed too much, she would defiantly tell without meaning to.

"A-ah, okay. I-I can do that. I'll just um..."

"Hinata, I'm not asking you to lie for me. Just keep doing what you're doing. I only need...two minutes, at the most okay."

She nodded but looked like she was about to jump out of her skin. Neji got up from the barstool and began to walk back upstairs. "Thank you, and I promise I'll explain later," he said to her as he walked up the stairs.

Hiashi's office was a few doors down from Neji's own room, so he just had to wait for the quick footsteps to walk past his door. He shut the door behind him and pressed his back against his door, staring into his room. As he let his eyes wander around, his mood slowly started to slip. The colorless, lifeless room always made him feel empty. His eyes shot to his balcony doors still locked with the chain and padlock. He shut his eyes tight and turned around, pressing his forehead against the door. After taking a few deep breaths, he attempted to turn but couldn't bring himself to do it; his body just wouldn't let him. Thankfully, the footsteps he was listening for passed by his door, getting his mind back into focus. He waited for about thirty seconds before leaving his room and heading straight for his uncle's office. Luckily, Hiashi never locked his office door, so walking in was easy. Hiashi's office was disgusting in Neji's opinion.

Bland, boring white walls with brown trim. Paintings that were bought and copied by a machine making them uniform and plain. Annoyingly fake-looking nick-knacks and small statues littered brown shelves, making them look generic. The only thing redeemable was the few family photos on the desk and shelves. Neji slapped a look of disgust on his face and walked over to the fax machine, still running papers through it. He should be able to find his signature on whoever's file was going through. He looked through the documents that had already gone through the machine looking for his uncle's name, but instead, he found a name he wasn't expecting.

Gaara Sabaku kept popping up over and over again. His curiosity spiked through the roof. Why was Gaara going to his uncle's psychiatric office? He picked up all the papers looking through them. IED was repeating over and over again, but he didn't know what that meant. Looking down the form, he finally found what he was looking for, a signature. He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the name, and made sure the papers were put back on the fax machine. He was started to walk out of the door when he ran straight into his uncle, which caused them both to jump.

"Neji? What on earth are you doing here?"

"I-I was looking for you. I thought you would still be in your office." Neji lied smoothly thanking whoever gave him the ability to think on his feet so quickly.

"No, that fax was taking longer than I thought, so I went down to check on Hinata. What did you need?"

"Uh, that meeting that you told me about last week. Did you reschedule that?"

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "No, I'll have to talk to my colleagues again to set up another meeting."

His voice was questioning, and Neji prayed that he wouldn't ask any further as he backed out of his office. "Great, just let me know." Neji continued to step away until Hiashi was entirely out of sight. He made his way back downstairs, where Hinata was putting the finishing touches on dinner. She about jumped out of her skin when she saw Neji come down the stairs heading toward her.

"N-Neji I... I'm sorry. I just couldn't."

"Hinata." She stopped rambling and looked up at him.

"Thank you," he said with a genuine smile on his face pulling her straight into a hug. She was too shocked to say anything back as he pulled away and went back upstairs to his room. He would have to tell her later about the job. He had work to do. He went to his room, grabbed his only sketchbook, and sat on his bed, facing away from his balcony. He had to practice signing the name before he put in pen on the sheet.

Hiashi looked through his office very carefully. Though Neji was a perfect lair, he could tell he wasn't telling the truth. The question was, why? Nothing in the room seemed out of order. All things were in the right place. He stood in the middle of the office and thought, the noise of the fax machine was the only thing prevalent. Maybe he was telling the truth and was just overreacting. The fax machine beeped, notifying him that it was done. He walked over to the fax machine and looked through the papers one by one to make sure he included everything. They seemed to be okay at first glance, but then he noticed something. He flipped through them two more times to make sure he saw things right. One of the pages was out of order. This small detail probably wouldn't affect most people, but Hiashi was very particular about his filing and knew for a fact they were number correctly when he put them through the fax. That could only mean that Neji did something to them, but what and why? A few reasonable explanations scrolled through his head like a falling paper or if machine jammed, but there was no reason to lie about that. So why would he be looking through work files? He couldn't think of an idea now, but he was going to find out, one way or another.

* * *

So a few things,

1) Modern classical music is a vast genre of music, but it does include epic music, which is what Neji and Gaara talk about in this chapter. Listen, if you have never listened to Promise by Thomas Bergerson, please listen to it. It is so beautiful. I would suggest headphones, closing your eyes, and letting your imagination run wild. Also, that song probably will be mentioned again in later chapters.

2) Shukaku is what's called a blonde raccoon or a cinnamon raccoon. Their coloring is, well blonde and they have light brown masks and tail rings. I liked this idea better than a standard colored raccoon because it made him stand out, and it's closer to the show. They are also adorable, and I would Google a picture if you've never seen one.

And that's it, second chapter. Please let me know what you think by review or PM, whichever suits you best. There are probably a TON of mistakes, feel free to let me know about them. Thank you so so much for reading.


	3. Trying

Yo, How's it going. Welcome back!

WARNING: This story hits pretty hard on depression and thoughts of suicide. If any of these things are triggering to you, I would read something else.

* * *

The mini-hike through the woods was a bit more tiresome than usual. Exhausted couldn't even begin to describe how Neji was feeling right now. The amount of time he spent writing and rewriting that signature was downright compulsive. At first, it was to get it perfect, so no one could possibly deny that Hiashi really signed the paper, but after that. After that, Neji didn't know what happened. He just kept writing it over and over for three hours. It would have gone for longer if Hinata didn't knock on the door to give him dinner. Maybe he was bored? He honestly had nothing else better to do afterward. Never the less, it left him dead tired. After snapping out of that trance, he had to fill out the rest of the paperwork. For an average person, this wouldn't have taken that long, but Neji was a stickler for reading everything before he signed his name. Something he was actually grateful his uncle taught him. All and all, he was up until two in the morning, which only gave him a solid three hours of sleep before having to get back up for school. Under normal circumstances, he would have gone to the library to sleep for the first hour of class, but for some reason, he wanted to tell Gaara he got the paper signed. He didn't know the reason behind it. There would be little to no reaction out of the other male, but for some odd reason, Neji was eager. Maybe it was that basic human need to share an accomplishment. Perhaps he wanted Gaara to know that he was trying. The exact reason was unknown, even to himself. As Neji settled down into his regular spot next to the rotten bench, he could already feel himself drifting to sleep. The scenery around him was lulling him like a lullaby. He yawned as he laid back in the fresh grass. The weather was beginning to be too cold to leave without a jacket, but Neji didn't mind. He much preferred cold weather than hot. He did take notice that Gaara was a bit more bundled up today than he had been. His collared shirt was long sleeve along with a jacket. If that wasn't an indicator that he was cold, the gloves and scarf covering his neck was. It made Neji wonder if it was always hot in the desert, or did they really have frigid nights like all the textbooks said. He was too tired to ask right now.

"I can wake you." Gaara's voice ripped him out of his thoughts and back down to reality.

"Hm?" It was the only response he could muster. He was so tired. "I can wake you before we go back." Neji gave a slight nod before letting his eyes close. When Gaara didn't hear a response, he turned to see Neji asleep in the long grass. He nodded and continued to put grass in a jar.

Hiashi had quite a few things to do at the office today before he started his typical sessions. The first thing was to find Iruka. He needed to ensure that he received the paperwork he sent last night. Iruka dealt with most of the troubled youth in the company. Having a troublesome past himself, he was able to relate most of the children he saw. In Hiashi's opinion, his methods were a bit unorthodox. He often took them out to eat or to the mall. Though odd, these methods did work for most of them, but his newest patient might prove to be different. Hiashi firmly knocked on the door to Iruka's office. Though he was in a hurry, he wasn't going to be rude. He heard quick footsteps on the other side of the door before it swung open.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Hyuuga. How are you this morning?" Iruka stepped aside so Hiashi could step in.

"I'm doing fine, Mr. Umino." He stepped into Iruka's office, looking around. His office was bright and colorful. The paintings on the wall reminded him of his nephew's pictures, saturated and full of life. The knickknacks on his desk, even his session chairs, were colorful. It was all very distracting, making the eye wander around too much. This was the main reason Hiashi preferred neutral colors for his work. It didn't allow the patient to get distracted, allowing them to focus on the matters at hand. Despite his opinion on the issue, Hiashi didn't say anything. It was not his office, not his patients, and Iruka did produce astounding results.

"Was there something you needed, sir?"

Hiashi jumped out of his own head. "Ah, yes. I was wondering if you received the paperwork on your newest patient yet."

"Oh, of course," Iruka made his way over to his desk and opened a file drawer pulling out a small folder. "I'll be honest I haven't completely read through it yet," he stated, placing the folder on his desk.

"I suggest you do before you start your sessions with him. He might prove to be a bit different than your other patients."

Iruka sifted through the file page by page, "I heard he's not much of a talker."

"His current guardian suggested that his manner of speech is very much intentional."

"Manner of speech?"

"Incomplete sentences, one-word responses. His version of getting information without giving it back."

Iruka tapped his finger on the chart, thinking for a minute. "He's gaining a read on the person he's talking to without giving them a chance to do the same." He chuckled slightly, "It must be pretty confusing."

"It's a method I see in older adults. Knowledgeable adults," Hiashi responded all too serious.

"You think he might outsmart me?"

"I think he will be a challenge."

A heavy silence fell between the two adults. Iruka raised an eyebrow at what Hiashi was implying. A kid with the mind of an adult might be too much for him. What Hiashi didn't realize is that minors all too often had proven to be smarter than most adults. Many of them were very willing to manipulate the mind, and each had a different way of doing it. Hiashi let a sigh pass through his nose, "I'm giving you this case because of your high success rate with minors, but if it proves to be too much, I will move him to someone else."

Iruka nodded, "I understand." Hiashi turned and started for the door. "Do you really think we should be doing this?" Iruka's voice stopped him at the door. "I mean, it just kind of seems wrong."

"He is unwilling to give information to the police. Everyone that has questioned him so far has either gotten no answer or were outsmarted. His guardian told us that he might speak to someone he trusts. That's where we come in."

"Well, I hope the police are in for the long hall," Iruka sighed. "It can take months for even an unintelligent minor to trust a psychologist. Even after that, there is the possibility that he still won't divulge such sensitive information."

Hiashi turned, "It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as he gives us something. If he doesn't, I fear that the young man's life will become very hard very quickly."

Iruka nodded in response. Hiashi once again was about to make his way out before a thought stopped him. "Mr. Umino, the file I sent, were the papers in order numerically?" Iruka quirked an eyebrow but once again sifted through the papers one by one.

"Yeah, they're in order."

"Hm, I see. Very well, then."

With that, Hiashi left Iruka's office. That confirmed that it wasn't user error with those files. Neji indeed had looked through them, but why. He looked down at his watch. There was no time to worry about that right now. He had two other meetings before his sessions started, and he was already running late.

Dreams usually came easy to Neji now and days. They helped him escape from his harsh reality that tore his soul apart. Unfortunately, they also brought him back. No matter what, his dreams would fall apart, bringing him crashing down to earth like a meteor. His dreams did not wake him this time but a sensation. It started at his hairline and worked its way down his scalp. The first time caused his dream to stop. The second time, he held eyes shut and groaned. It felt good but unwanted. He moved his head back and forth, trying to get it to stop. The third, his eyes fluttered open and turned his head, trying to find the source. It took a moment for his eyes to focus before he saw the redhead next to him.

Gaara was crouched beside him with Neji's hair weaved in between his fingers. Neji sat up on his elbows with a groan, "What are you doing?"

Gaara simply let the rest of his hair fall from his fingers, stood, and walked away. Took Neji a second before he was awake enough to stand up himself. He yawned as he followed Gaara back out of the woods. Despite the nap, he was still dead tired and was already thinking of when he could get more sleep in, but other thoughts came first.

"What were you doing before?" His voice was still a little rough from just waking up.

"I woke you."

"Bit unorthodox to pet someone wake, don't you think?" Neji should have been angry; in fact, he should be furious. He didn't like his hair touched moreover; he didn't like being touched in general, but he was tired. Too tired to work up the energy to be mad. He would instead just figure out why and move on.

"It worked."

Neji snorted. He didn't know why he expected any other answer out of the redhead. It seemed to him the Gaara simply did things to get the desired result. There was something almost pure about it. Neji decided it was best to drop the subject. There was no use in pressing it any further. The duo found themselves once again at the doors to the school, where they usually parted ways. Neji stopped right before entering the school, "I got the paper signed." Gaara stopped and turned to look at Neji. The stare seemed to last forever, making Neji a little uncomfortable.

"Is it good enough?"

Neji quirked an eyebrow, truly confused. "Is what...?"

"The copy," Gaara stated, still not looking away from Neji. Took a second for Neji to put two and two together, but when he did, his eyes widened. He knew. Somehow Gaara knew that he forged the signature, but how?

"H-how did you?"

Gaara just shrugged and looked away from him. "As long as it's good enough," he said, walking away into the school building. Neji stood there, absolutely shocked. How in the hell did he know that he copied the signature? Neji racked his brain through all the memories he could think of with Gaara. Did he ever give any indication that his uncle was a tyrant? He realized after their first interaction that Gaara was able to gather information and come to a conclusion with little less than a word. He must have said something that gave him a clue, but what was it? Neji stood by the door for an unknown amount of time thinking to himself. It wasn't until the bell rang for his next class that he snapped out of his thoughts. The question would have to wait.

Thankfully, Neji was able to sleep the next few classes, being caught up with all of his school work. His teachers didn't think it was too productive, but his grades told them not to bother him. By lunch, Neji felt a lot better rested than he did that morning and was currently looking around the outside eating area for Hinata. In his obsession last night, he forgot to tell her he would be getting a job. He hoped that this new information would sedate her worrying. It took a few minutes before he spotted her next to who he hoped he would never see again. Neji groaned, rubbing his forehead. He could feel the headache coming already. Maybe he could tell her later. There was no harm in having her wait a few more hours, but was that fair? She had already worried enough as is, and it was his fault. Neji cursed his conscience for talking him out of walking away. Even still, it took him another solid five minutes before he worked up the courage to approach his cousin. "Hey, Hinata." Before Hinata could even utter a response, Naruto attacked.

"Neji! I haven't seen you around lately. Are you joining us for lunch? You can't steal my cookie this time. I already ate it," Naruto laughed.

Neji almost turned around to walk away. The words 'She's important' replayed over and over in his head until it stuck. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute," Neji grumbled out, turning to walk away. Hinata nodded and got up to leave.

"Hey. Why so serious? Everything okay," Naruto spoke with a bit of concern lining his words. Hinata couldn't help but smile, "It's fine, Naruto. I'll be back in a minute."

Both Hyuga's made their way across the area and under the cool shade of a tree. Neji leaned against the tree while Hinata fidgeted in front of him. Now that he was here, he almost didn't know how to start. "Um, how are you," he said a bit awkwardly.

"I'm okay. You still seem to be feeling better than before." He nodded, "Yeah, I am."

There was a calm silence as the wind blew through both of their long hair. "Listen, I um, told you yesterday I'd explain everything, so I figured I'd do that now."

Hinata's eyes widened a bit then she looked down at feet. She was slightly afraid of what Neji had to say. Her cousin wasn't one to be irresponsible, so she wasn't too worried, but he had been so off lately. She didn't quite know what to expect. "First, I wanted to apologize. I've been messed up, to say the least, and I know you've been worried."

"Neji, you have nothing to be sorry for," Hinata interrupted, her tone serious. "What father did...it was..." Her voice was shaking, showing her anger. It made Neji's heart hurt.

"Hinata, it's fine."

"It's not," she practically shouted, making Neji jump. He could count on his fingers how many times she's yelled like that. "You shouldn't have to suffer through this. It's wrong and unfair. And the fact that he doesn't even see what it's doing to you."

"Hinata."

She stopped and looked at her cousin. His head was turned away, looking down at the ground, fists clenched. With his mouth clenched shut, she could hear his ragged breathing through his nose. Her words were affecting him negatively in some way. She stopped and turned away, "I'm sorry."

It took a minute for Neji to be able to respond. His mind started to fall apart at Hinata's words, and he needed to pick up the pieces. "I'm trying to help," he muttered out slowly.

"What?"

"I'm trying to help myself," he said a little loud, finally looking back at her. "I got a job, a least, I hope I got a job."

"A job?"

"It's where I went when I dropped you off the other day."

Hinata nodded slowly, "What kind of job is it?"

She was still slightly concerned that Neji got himself involved in something he shouldn't. "Working with animals. My psychology partner told me about it."

Hinata's face lit up, "Neji, that's great." She skipped up and wrapped her arms around Neji. It was the second time today he was touched. This time he didn't mind in the slightest. He snaked his arms around her, resting his cheek on the top of her head. The two stayed there for what seemed like forever enjoying each other's company. Neji was the first to let go, the lack of her warmth leaving him cold.

"I just didn't want you to worry anymore," he whispered, looking down at the ground again. Hinata smiled. The two of them were worried about each other for different reasons.

"Neji, I'm always going to worry, but I'll try to do it a little bit less." He gave a slight nod in response.

"Do you want to join me for the rest of lunch? We still have fifteen minutes." Neji scoffed, holding back a chuckle, "Not with your boyfriend around. One of us would end up dead."

Hinata's face flushed a bright red, "H-he's not…I mean w-we're not…"

Neji pushed off the tree and started to walk away. "I'll see you after school Hinata," he said, patting her shoulder as he passed. Hinata watched as her cousin walked away. He seemed better. Not normal by any means, but better. The typical air of confidence was still missing, and he was defiantly still extremely sensitive about the subject. The joke he said made her a bit more hopeful that he would with time recover. She walked back to her seat next to Naruto, who was slurping down the last bit of his noodles. She couldn't help smile as the hot soup splashed in his face causing him to grunt in pain. Hinata sat down next to him, grabbed a napkin, and wiped his face off. He let her wipe him off then gave a goofy grin afterward.

"Thanks, guess I should be more careful, huh?"

"Yeah," she laughed. Before she could say anything else, there was a tap on Naruto's shoulder. They looked up to see Gaara standing there, his bag seemed to sag from the weight of whatever was inside. "Hey, Gaara! What's up."

Gaara would was looking nowhere, in particular, looked down at the both of them. His eyes seem to linger on Hinata before looking back at Naruto. "Do you have the empty ones," he said in a low, gruff voice.

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Naruto grabbed his bag next to him, pulling out two small empty jars. In turn, Gaara set his bag down on the table with a loud thud pulling out two jars full of dirt and leaves. "Whoa, you got a lot today," Naruto chirped, sliding over the empty containers.

The redhead made a small noise in response, taking them and placing them in his bag. Without another word, he walked off. "Bye! See you later," Naruto said, waving as he left! Hinata watched the entire exchange with an eyebrow raised. So that was Neji's psychology partner. He was certainly odd. Typically, she wasn't one to snoop, but when it came to her cousin, she was willing to do anything.

"Who was that?" Though it wasn't necessary, she decided to play dumb. It would be best if she could get as much information as she could.

"Oh, that's my friend Gaara. I met him at the beginning of the school year. He's living in the same complex as me." Hinata thanked the gods that Naruto was so forthcoming with information.

"What were those jars for?"

"Hm?" The blonde thought for a minute scratching his chin as he pulled the jars closer to him. "You know, I don't know. He just asked if I could help him out one day, and I did."

"And you didn't ask what they were for?" Hinata giggled. Anyone else would have been frustrated, but she just thought it was sweet. Not many people would help someone without any information and continue to help them.

"I did ask, but he didn't answer. Actually, he doesn't talk all that much." Hinata went silent for a minute. Naruto might not be the best person to find out about Neji's psychology partner, but who else would know about him.

"Kiba might know more," Naruto chipped practically, reading her mind.

"Hm?"

"Kiba works at the same place as Gaara. He probably knows more about him. I can ask for you if you want?" Hinata shook her head, smiling at the blond, "No, that's okay. I was just curious."

Naruto placed the jars in his bag then polished off the rest of his soup. He let out a satisfied sigh before speaking again. "He and I are kind of alike, you know. Not a lot of people liked him as a kid either."

Hinata's face saddened. Though Naruto was pretty much accepted/tolerated by most now, that wasn't always the case. In his younger years, he was homeless, and with no adult figure in his life, he was quite the delinquent. Pulling pranks, stealing food you name it, he did it, making him a public nuisance for all. Parents told their kids to stay away from him, so making friends was just about impossible. Soon enough, kids started making fun of him because of his worn clothes and unbathed skin. He was truly alone. Hinata was sure Gaara probably didn't have the exact same issues being a major's son, but if his childhood was anything like Naruto's, then she felt bad for him.

"He looks sad sometimes," Naruto's words snapped her out her own thoughts. "I wonder if people still don't like him over there."

Hinata placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "He has to have some friends over there. Maybe he just upset because he's so far away from home."

"That's what I thought too, that's why I want to be friends with him. So, he's not so lonely."

She couldn't help but smile, "I think he appreciates it."

Naruto smiled back at her, stood, and picked up his bag. "Lunch is almost over, you want me to walk you to class."

She shook her head, "That's okay, I have something I have to take care of first, and I don't want you to be late." Hinata stood, picking up her bag as well. "I'll see you after school, okay?" "Okay, see you later," he waved, walking off without another thought.

Hinata quickly made her way close to her next class. Kiba's class was close to hers, and if she ran, she could catch him before class. Her thought of getting more information on Gaara was still in her head, but she also wanted something else from him. She saw him close by his classroom door, leaning against the wall talking to Shino. He looked up when he saw her coming toward them.

"Hinata, I've been wanting to talk to you."

Kiba turned to Shino, "I'll talk to ya later bud." Shino only nodded and wandered off as Kiba turned back to Hinata, his expression serious. "So, what the hell is up with your cousin?"

"W-what do you mean?" She honestly didn't know what he meant. There was no way he knew about Neji's recent issues, nor did he really care.

"He comes barging in yesterday asking to work for us and no offense, but he does not seem like he likes animals or anything living for that matter."

"Neji likes animals; we just can't have them because of my father. So, he did apply for a position over there?"

"Well, it might not have been completely his idea. When Gaara said he wanted to work there, he looked just as shocked as I did. I thought he would decline after, but he just agreed and got the paperwork."

"Gaara's that foreign exchange student, right?" She decided to act like she didn't have any information again. Unlike Naruto, it was necessary for Kiba.

"Yeah, the kid with the super red hair. He started working there because his little demon child isn't allowed where he's living."

Hinata chuckled, "Demon child?"

"That damn evil ass raccoon he has. The thing bit me three times yesterday, trying to feed him." Kiba held up his hand, showing off three band-aids covering up the healing wounds. Hinata could only laugh at his exasperation.

"Seriously, Hinata! This is no laughing matter! The things evil and Gaara is weird as hell."

"Well, last time I checked raccoons don't make the best of pets. I saw him talking to Naruto earlier. He just seemed a little quiet."

Kiba sneered, "Pfft, he's just as much of a trouble maker as that raccoon is. He never follows the rules. Barely talks. He overfed all the other nocturnal animals, giving the response of 'they looked hungry.' He carries that little devil everywhere he goes, so no one came even come near him to correct him on any mistakes! How do you even work with someone like that?!" Kiba huffed, flinging his hand up in the air.

Hinata rubbed the back of her head, chuckling at Kiba's mini-rant. "Maybe you should try talking to him before he gets the raccoon out or bring him straight to the office?"

"That's not going to work. Here's the thing, if Gaara doesn't want to see or hear you, he simply won't."

Hinata scrunched her face. How was that even possible? "I'm sorry I don't understand."

Kiba scratched the back of his head, "Man, I don't know how to explain it. Just know that he's weird, and I don't like him."

"Fair enough, I guess." The bell rang before she could comment again.

"Oh, gotta go. I'll get suspended if I'm late again. Talk to ya later. Maybe we'll see a movie later," Kiba shouted, running off. Hinata only waved back. She was slightly disappointed she couldn't get more information on Gaara. Maybe she could arrange to talk to him directly. That shouldn't be too hard.

He was happy he finally eased some of his cousin's worries. Unfortunately, her words got to him like a rabid dog gnawing away at his leg. He wondered what was causing this spiral, this descent into darkness. This thought wasn't new. In fact, since his decent, he thought about it a lot. Why was his mind shutting down? How could he fix the problem? Was it indeed the lack of him being able to express himself? No, there was something more to it than that, but what?

Neji pondered over these thoughts for the rest of the school day. It was starting to give him a headache. Leaning up against his car, looking down with his hand over his mouth, he didn't notice Ten-Ten walk up to him.

"Hey, Neji. You okay?"

God, he hated that question, it set his teeth on edge. He looked up to see his concerned friend leaning down to see his face. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

Ten Ten gave an unsure look to the side, "Do you mind if I asked about what," she spoke softly? Neji considered it. Ten Ten used to the one he would talk to when Hinata wasn't around. Why was it different now? Nothing changed. She wasn't the cause of the problem. Maybe if he could just ask, she could solve his problem, or at least help. He just had to ask.

"Nothing."

"Oh... Okay." Neji mentally kicked himself in the teeth. The disappointment in her voice was not only heard but felt.

"Well, I wanted to remind you about the art show, figure out a time you know."

"Yeah, I can meet you there or..."

"Neji, do you even know what time the show is?" Her voice was a bit harsher than she intended, but he was just so frustrating. She tried leaving him alone, that wasn't working. She's trying to get him out to something he enjoyed, which he seemed disinterested in. Now she was trying to talk to him, and he was deflecting. To her understanding, he was not talking to Hinata, so why not her. What changed? The frustration didn't go unheard by Neji.

He honestly wasn't trying to be a pain; it just wasn't in his nature to express severe problems with her. He looked down at the ground, "I'm sorry." It was the only thing he could come up with. He didn't mean to make her mad. Ten-Ten sighed, "It starts at ten, but we don't have to get there that early if you don't want to."

"Maybe at twelve."

"I'll pick you up then."

"I can drive."

"But, you're not."

Neji nodded, she seemed mad enough. She smiled softly, "Alright, then. I'll see you on Saturday at eleven."

Not bothering to wait for a response, she turned and left. As soon as she reached her car, Lee popped his head out from behind the vehicle. "Are you hiding?"

"I didn't want to compromise the mission if he saw me."

Ten Ten smacked her palm against her forehead before rubbing down her face. "Get out from behind the car Lee."

Despite Neji probably already being long gone, Lee looked around before coming out into full view. "How did it go?"

Ten Ten growled into the air, "Not as great as I was hoping."

"Did he change his mind?"

"No, we're still going, but he didn't seem like he wanted to."

"Maybe he is just tired from today. It is the end of the school day."

"Lee, he's been like this for months. I don't think it's that." Ten Ten sighed again, "I don't think I helped either. I got a little frustrated with him."

Lee looked down, disappointed. What else could they do to help their suffering friend out? "Perhaps was should get an adult? Our psychology teacher is knowledgeable, not to mention his profession."

"Hinata seemed really reluctant to do that."

"Yes, but," Lee stopped for a minute to gather his words. "I don't mean her any disrespect, but maybe Hinata's not thinking completely clear. Our friend's predicament affects her more than any of us."

"I know Lee, I know." She had been on and off the idea of going to a teacher as well. Something about her conversation with Hinata was stopping her. "Maybe she had a reason. What if that makes it worse? We both know how independent Neji is."

"I know, but..."

"What are you two morons yelling about?" Sasuke stood across the car with his hands shoved in his pockets. He usually would ignore these two, but when he heard Neji's name, he decided to figure out what was going on. He'd never seen Neji at his best, being complaining buddies, but recently he a been more off than usual.

Lee jumped at the opportunity, "Sasuke, maybe you could help us?"

"No, Lee," Ten Ten hushed to him.

"But he's his friend too."

"I don't want to involve more than we have to," she whispered.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I'm not deaf, you know."

"Yeah, well, you would know that we don't need your help then."

"Ten Ten," Lee warned.

"Listen, if we need you, we'll come to find you, alright?" Sasuke stared at the two for a moment as if waiting for them to say more. When they didn't, he walked away, mumbling to himself as he went.

"I don't think that was a good idea."

"We'll handle it, Lee."

"I still think we should tell a teacher."

"Let me go to this art show with him. I'll try to pick his brain. After that, if he's bad, we'll tell someone."

"I hope your right."

Neji felt like his energy had been sapped from his body. He sat back in his front seat with a huff. God, he was tired. What was he thinking about again? The only thing that came to mind was that he wanted to go to bed. His eyes started to drift shut. Maybe he could get a nap in before Hinata came in. A small knock on his window shattered those dreams. Hinata gave a short wave from outside the car. Not even realizing that he locked the car, Neji let his smiling cousin into the vehicle with a yawn.

"Hey, how are you feeling," she said, settling into the car?

"Tired," was his only response. He couldn't think straight anymore. Hinata looked over to him. Her cousin looked positively drained. He was pale, with sagging eyes almost like he had gone days without sleep.

"Do you want to take a nap when we get home? I can wake you for dinner."

Neji took his time sitting up and turning on the car. "No, I have to turn in my application. I don't know if there will be anything else involved."

"Do you want me to come with you? I don't want you to fall asleep while driving."

"I'm fine," was the only response he gave. Hinata stayed quiet after that. She wanted to ask what was wrong. Ask him what happened in-between lunch and now to cause such a downfall in mood. She decided against it. It seemed like the more attention she gave him, the more he would seize up.

"Well, I'll make something for you a little early and stick it in the fridge. You can grab it and go to your room after, okay?"

He nodded in response. The drive to the house was as silent as it had been the past month. Hinata was hoping after their talk at lunch she could talk to him about his psychology partner, but there was no way she would get a response now. Hell, she would settle for fake boring office talk over the silence.

Hinata got out of the car as soon as the car came to a stop in the garage. "I'll leave your food in the fridge, okay?" She knew she had already told him that but, she was grasping at straws. He only nodded again in response. "Um, be careful."

"Okay."

She backed away from the car, not knowing what else to say to him. Watching him pull out of the driveway, she hoped that maybe he would feel better after he got this job. Maybe, just maybe, it would ease his mind.

Neji walked through the lobby of the sanctuary with a look of disgust. He decided since this whole fiasco started anything room with plain white and brown enraged him. It reminded him of his uncle. He knew he had a sour look on his face when the receptionist at the desk looked taken aback. "I need to turn this in," he tried to clean his face as he showed her the application.

"O-oh, um, if you head straight through those doors, you'll hit the offices. Just knock on Hana's door."

Neji nodded in thanks as she buzzed him through. Walking through the building without Gaara, there was a bit more nerve-racking than he thought. The first time he was here, he wasn't paying enough attention to know exactly where he was going. It didn't help that no one was walking around for him to ask. The halls were empty, all the same color, there were doors with different labels everywhere. The strange noises were throwing him off. Neji stopped in the hallway once he hit a wall; he was lost. His mind raced. Maybe he should turn back; have the receptionist lead him back. Perhaps this was a sign that he shouldn't do this. What was he actually doing here? Was this really going to help? He wasn't qualified for this. Neji looked down at the application in his hand, turning in the other direction. Maybe he should reconsider this. It was a spur of the moment decision. The thought of ripping the papers in half crossed his mind when he ran into someone in the hall. Not only did his application go flying, but the containers that the other person was carrying hit the floor as well.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Neji mumbled, bending to help pick up the containers. The other bent down as well straightening his blond hair as he did.

"Hm, you look new. Did you just start?" Neji considered telling him whether he was a new applicant. He was just about to leave. Unfortunately for him, the blond picked up his application before he could.

"Oh, your applying. Let me guess, Kiri upfront told you to head straight back, didn't she?"

"Uh, yeah, I was actually about to go back," Neji mumbled, standing back up. The stranger re-balanced all the containers in his arms as he rose as well.

"No need for that. I'll take you over there. Follow me." The blond walked past him and turned to the right in which Neji followed silently. So much for turning around and leaving out. "What's your name, kid?"

Neji didn't particularly like being called a kid, but he kept quiet. "Neji Hyuuga." The duo walked through a familiar door that led to an office like section.

"Well, Neji, next time you come in, don't listen to Kiri. She has no idea where anything is. Hana's office is that one to the left."

"Thank you."

The blond gave a small wave, "See ya around."

Neji didn't bother lingering in the hall and knocked on the office door. A yell came from the other side of the door that sounded like a disgruntled 'what.' Neji poked his head inside. Hana looked up from her computer for a second, "Who are you?"

"Neji Hyuuga, I have an application to turn in."

"Alright, get in here."

Neji walked the rest of the way in and sat in the chair. He began to put the paper on the desk, but Hana snatched it before it could touch wood. "You on any drugs?"

Neji looked taken aback, "No."

She looked up at him then quickly flipped through the pages. "Had a tetanus shot in the last ten years?"

"I assume so." All of his health care was through his uncle, which meant mandatory physicals once a year. Hana discarded the application on top of another stack of papers and dug for another packet.

"Alright, you're hired, fill these out for me." Neji didn't take the documents from her immediately. That was it? She barely even glanced at his application. Quick snapping ripped him out of his head.

"C'mon. c'mon kid, I don't have all day."

Neji filled out the forms to the best of his ability. Being his first time filling something like this out, he probably took a lot longer than he should have. Though Hana made no notion that he was taking to long, he still felt a little embarrassed. He handed the forms to Hana once he was done.

"Alright, so technically I could have you start today, but I need to talk to the rest of my staff. See who needs you the most. Once I find that out, you'll be in training for about four weeks where you'll shadow whoever you're with after that your on your own. No vacation time until ninety days, and we don't close for holidays, so if you have to call out, it's going to affect your check. You get all that."

Neji nodded quickly.

"Alright come back next week, I'll have your section and schedule done by then. Also, your partner will give you a tour."

Once again, Neji just nodded; he had nothing to add. When she didn't speak again, he took that as his cue to leave. This time he remembered how to get out without help.

Neji's eyes burned as he rolled on his side in the forbidden forest. The pounding in his head hadn't stopped for days. He tried to think. Tried to get his head in a straight line again. Unfortunately, every time he thought about what was wrong with him, his head would split into a million different directions. What was even more unfortunate was that he couldn't stop thinking. What was wrong with him? Why was this happening? How could he make it better? Would those options even work? These questions all came at the same time, causing a giant question tree whose branches were growing through every lope in his brain, scratching against the dura mater. Another bolt of pain ran through his head, causing another groan.

"Do you get migraines?"

Gaara's voice almost made him jump. The redhead always seemed to know when Neji was having a rough day. Either that or he blatantly ignored Neji no matter how he was feeling. Regardless, Gaara never spoke unless spoken to, hell even that was a stretch.

"Is that your question?"

Gaara stopped digging at tree bark and looked at Neji with an eyebrow quirked. Neji stared back, mirroring his expression. In truth, Neji didn't want to answer questions nor ask them. He was hoping his smart ass remark would deter Gaara from continuing. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Gaara smirked and turned around.

"Do you accept the terms?"

Neji looked away from his smirking companion. No, he didn't want to 'accept the terms.' That's what he was trying to avoid. Gaara's answer was just as snarky as his was. Now, this was a battle of wits, and Neji wasn't going to lose.

"No, I don't get migraines," he answered back with his head screaming in regret. Now was the hard part. What question should he ask? The thought of thinking of something, anything to ask, was causing a nuclear explosion of pain. Neji unintentionally let out another groan.

"Do you take back your agreement?"

Neji glared at the dirt. Fuck him. Fuck him and his weird way of knowing precisely what he was thinking. "Do you dye your hair?" It was a dumb question that would get him no information but, fuck it. He didn't care.

"No."

Though he showed no signs of showing it, Neji was shocked. Such bright red hair could be natural? Maybe it was a Suna thing. "You turned in the application?"

"Yes."

Two people could play the one-word game. The repercussions came when he had to think of another question. Before the fundamental question, tea or coffee slipped from his mouth, another peaked its way out of his melting brain.

"Do you miss Suna?"

Neji didn't know where it came from, and from Gaara's sudden immobility, he didn't either. Gaara only blinked, grabbing his sleeve. Neji almost felt like celebrating catching him off guard if it wasn't for his expression. For the first time, Gaara didn't look bored, unemotional, or the rare smug. He looked conflicted with a hint of anger mixed in. A glare that that would put Neji's best icy look to shame began to take over. Any other person would have taken this as a sign. Ask if they're okay or don't say anything else. Hell, he could have even told him not to answer. But Neji was an asshole, and he knew it.

"Do you take back your agreement?" It was a punch straight to the gut. Neji relished in the victory, waiting for the response.

Any average person would have been angry. They probably would ignore him or tell him to fuck off. Gaara wasn't normal. The glare faded away to his regular expression, which then molded into a sizable smirk. This slightly disturbed Neji.

"There are aspects of Suna that are regretfully not here, but there is nothing I can do about that."

Neji sat his head up with a glare and a bit of dizziness. What the fuck did that mean? He didn't even answer the question. Despite Neji's glare, which he knew Gaara could see, he still had that smirk on his face. Bastard.

"Interpret that as you like."

Neji almost growled. Fucking bastard. That small victory was ripped from his body and stomped into the dirt in a matter of seconds.

"Do you miss painting?"

Damn him.

Neji knew that this would happen from the beginning. Ask a personal question you get one back, but the problem was, he didn't ask a personal question. Asking if you missed a particular place was basic, at best. Now Neji was caught in a snare. Gaara was looking for the same high that Neji found himself in for a total of fifteen blissful seconds. That reaction of shock or anger that threw him off just moments ago. So did Neji give Gaara what he wanted. That angry shouting person he should become after a question like that. On the flip side, he could brush it off; act nonchalant. Unfortunately, this would also give Gaara precisely what he wanted. Neji had already proven to Gaara that anger is his first defense. Acting indifferent would be a lie, one he would recognize instantly. There was only one thing he could possibly think of that would throw a wrench in that shit-eating smirk that Gaara had plastered on his face.

"Yes, I do. I think about it all the time. I didn't realize how much it affected my life until it was gone. How much of it was me."

The smirk was gone, which, yes, was a small victory, but the answer hurt. It made him realize that he was nothing without painting. Before it was all he thought about doing, all he did. He didn't want to do anything else. So now that it was gone, who was he? Seconds after answering the pain in Neji's head, switched to a numbing haze. A grenade had gone off and had left him brain dead. Neji stood from his spot with his bag and left. He didn't know if Gaara was following behind him or not, nor did he care. His eyes burned as hot tears threatened to wet his cheeks. He made his way out of the forest through the school entirely and straight to his car. There was no way he could stay for the rest of the day. Not with the sudden realization that he was now no one. What does one do with this information? How the fuck can he keep himself from falling apart. A knock on his window almost put his head through his car roof. Did he get caught by a teacher? It would only make things worse if his uncle found out about his departure.

"Roll down the window, you idiot." The voice quelled his fear immediately as he rolled down the window. "You look like shit," Sasuke pointed out as his face came into view.

"You don't exactly look stunning yourself."

The raven chuffed, "What are you doing out here?"

Neji leaned back in his chair with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. "I just can't stay here today."

There was no response for a little bit. Neji almost thought he left.

"Come with me." Sasuke walked away from the car, leaving Neji just a bit shocked. "Hurry up!" Jumping at his shout, Neji got out of his car and followed. The car ride was awkward at best.

Neither of them talked. Both stared out their respective windows. They stopped at a park, one that looked similar to the outdoor area at the school. A large hilly area with reddening trees scattered about. A winding concrete path with elderly ladies working on their steps was the only real difference. Both boys got out of the car and started walking down the trail at a leisurely pace. It was nice. An excellent way to not think about anything and let his dismantled brain rest. After a few minutes, Sasuke went off the path and up to a large tree, sitting at the base. Neji followed, sitting next to him without much protest. The sounds and environment had a different clam than the forest he had been regularly visiting. His calm was slightly interrupted when the smell of weed hit his nose. Sasuke took a long drag from the joint before shoving it over to Neji. Before Neji could utter a word of rejection, Sasuke stopped him.

"Just take the damn thing. One time isn't going to kill you."

Neji didn't know if he agreed with him or if his brain was to messed up to think straight. Regardless, he took it from him. Surprisingly wasn't as awful as he thought it would be. He figured it would taste horrible, and the smell would be worse. Neither of those things bothered him much. The warm feeling throughout his chest felt nice against the cold weather. Unfortunately, the coughing was inevitable, which he was thoroughly laughed at by Sasuke.

"Alright, what the fuck did he do?"

Neji relaxed against the tree. In his mind haze, he might be willing to spill his woes. "Nothing." The response was automatic. Though his brain was melting out of his ears, it was still functioning enough for his normal defenses.

"Don't feed me that bull shit. What did he do?" Sasuke seemed more serious this time flecks of anger lined his voice. Though Neji's defenses were there, they were weak. This still didn't produce an answer, but he couldn't think of a good enough response either. "Either you tell me what he did, or I'll tell your uncle that you skipped school to smoke weed with me at the park."

Neji gave him a glare, "He wouldn't believe you."

"Try me. Even if you run at top speed, you wouldn't make it back until the middle of the next class. No matter what, there would be some truth to my statement."

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a rough sigh. "Fuck it," he growled, rubbing his face again. "He took away my painting along with anything that had to do with it."

Sasuke passed him the joint again which, he took with no hesitation. "And I realized," he coughed again, handing it back to Sasuke. "I realized that I don't have anything else but that. Ever since my father, it was all did. All I thought about. I don't know who I am anymore." There was a long silence between the two of them. The wind blowing the trees knocking leaves into their laps. "Worse part is I don't know how to fix it. I've tried other things. They just don't help." It took a while for Sasuke to respond.

"Did you know I wanted to go into politics."

Neji only grunted. Quite frankly, he didn't know much about Sasuke personally other than his hatred of his family.

"I wanted to go to college for political science. I have countless books, spent years studying. Hell, most of my time is spent watching debates and public addresses, assessing what could be done better. What would be better for the public?" Sasuke paused to take another hit before continuing. "Turns out, I'm not meant to do any of that. Turns out, I'm meant to go to school for business and take over a company. A company I don't give two shits about. It's maddening that just being born in my family means that I'm not allowed to do what I want."

Neji took the burning paper from Sasuke's hand before he hit it again. "You seem so calm and carefree all the time. How do you keep yourself from falling apart? Is this the reason?" He took another long drag before handing it back, only coughing once this time.

Sasuke chuckled, "It helps, but no, it's not the reason." Neji gave a curious look while he watched Sasuke finish the joint off and flicking it into the wind. "Over time, I just said fuck it. I'm going to make my last years freedom my own. I made sure I only needed to pass a few classes last year and this year. The times that I'm gone, I sneak into the political science classes at the community college up the road. Hell, one of the teachers thinks I'm actually a student I've been going for so long."

Neji huffed, looking off at a woman walking he dog, "If only I had half the bravery you have."

"What's stopping you from buying some cheap paint supplies?"

"My uncle stopped my allowance after he took everything away."

"Get a job."

"I'm working on that."

"Okay, so get the checks and buy some fucking paint."

"Then what? Put it in my room, acting like he won't notice."

"It's a thought."

"A stupid one."

"Why is that?" Neji sighed. This was getting into territory he didn't even talk about with Hinata. Though he was already talking to Sasuke about things, he wouldn't usually talk about he would not go this far. "Um, last time someone didn't do what my uncle wanted, they disappeared." It sounded far more ominous than the full truth. Judging by Sasuke's scrunched face, he didn't fully believe the line either.

"Shit sounds straight out of a god damn movie."

Neji let out a frustrated sigh, "Listen, I don't need you to believe me."

"I never said I didn't."

Neji's eyes widened in shock as he looked over to the raven. "Parents, or in your case uncles, can do stupid shit when people don't meet expectations. Expessually, rich ones. Whatever your uncle did. I have no doubt in my mind that he did it."

Neji was still shocked. His mind flashed back to when he was a kid. Pleading with people that his uncle had something to do with the disappearance. No one ever believed him. He was just a kid. What did he know? And now a person that he only recalled complaining to regularly believed him after one very vague and cliche sentence.

"Y-yeah."

It was all he could get out. Neji's chest filled with a feeling he couldn't quite place. He couldn't tell what he was feeling. He was relaxed yet anxious, relieved, but still upset. The conflicting feelings were making him squirm. It didn't help that his already fractured brain was trying now to figure out what was happening. Neji started to dig his fingers in the dirt. He had to do something, anything, to distract from this weird feeling. Sasuke looked down at Neji's fingers then back up at him.

"I see you're the anxious type."

"What?"

"Nothing. Listen, no matter how hard your situation is or what your uncle did or does, it can't be any worse than it already is."

"But what if..."

"It doesn't fucking matter, Neji. If you already feel like launching yourself off a building, what the fuck does it matter if he caught you, huh?"

Sasuke sounded angry again. His statement brought made Neji's balcony flash into his mind. What did it matter? He, more than on regular bases, felt dead already. Despite these thoughts, Neji wasn't convinced. What if it did get worse. His head started to hurt again, his eyes burning a bit.

"If he caught me..."

"Fuck him."

Neji could only chuckle. How long had he wanted to say that to his uncle with no avail? Hell, maybe he was just too afraid to tell it to his uncle. He didn't know. Too many questions were coming back, hitting his skull like a jackhammer. He was starting to not think straight again.

"A 'fuck you' can only last so long on the streets. Then I might as well just..." The rest of the sentence didn't come out. He didn't want to think about killing himself, but was that the only ending result. No matter what would he end up dead somewhere before he was eighteen. Neji was finding it harder to breathe. His eyes wouldn't stop burning.

"Come to my house then. Hell, it's big enough you could live there without anyone knowing."

"I doubt that will work."

"I'll lie if you get caught."

Neji looked over to him. He would do that for him. I guess they were friends, though Neji hasn't been the best person for the past couple of months. He really had been shitty to everyone around him. The realization brought a new emotion to the plethora he was already feeling. Shame. How much had his friends been suffering because of him?

"Like your father would allow that." Neji murmured, his voice slightly shaking. The last thing he needed was Sasuke to get mixed up in his bullshit, even if this was all hypothetical.

"Fuck him too."

Neji tried to laugh again, but it came out more like a half chuckle, half sob. He was crying. All the emotions running through his brain came out through his eyes, and he couldn't stop it. He quickly wiped away in involuntary tears, "Shit, I'm sorry" He let out a shaky breathe trying his best to stop. Sasuke wrapped an arm around Neji's shoulders, which only made the tears fall more.

"It's okay. I get it."

Neji let in a long breath through his now stuffy nose and out his mouth. Once the tears stopped, Sasuke patted his shoulder a few times before letting go. Neji wiped his face one more time, "I feel like I've been a shitty friend, hell, a shitty person, the past couple months. Here you are with the exact same problem and finding a solution while I'm over here sulking and ignoring everyone. I'm god damn pathetic."

"Well, if it any consolation, I think everyone's shitty all the time, including me."

Neji successfully laughed this time with no tears. "I just got a part-time job. I guess I can buy supplies with the checks. Now that its cooler, I can keep what I buy in my car. Hell, maybe I'll start skipping and attend some art classes before my utter doom."

Sasuke stood from his spot, stretching his back "Take control before it's taken away forever."

Neji only hummed as a reply.

"I'm going to head out. One of my classes is going to start in about an hour."

He started to walk away as Neji stood from his spot, "You drove you, asshole. Bring me back first."

"Well then, keep up, or I'll leave you behind."

Both boys walked down the hill away from the tree. Take control before it was taken away forever. Was it really that easy? Neji sighed through his nose as he followed his friend out of the park area. There was no harm in trying.

* * *

Well, it took a little over a year, but I got this chapter done. Thanks for waiting and reading.


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